Shields
by LadyAlambiel
Summary: Not all shields look as we expected... Not all shields are physical... Note: This is an in-between story taking place in the sixth month time gap between chapters one and two of A Light in the Darkness: Shadowed.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.

Disclaimer #2: The USPS Motto is not mine, I just gleefully borrowed it to adapt for this chapter.

Summary: Not all shields look as we expected... Not all shields are physical...

Chapter One

17 Stormfall 1001

"I don't see why I need to train with a shield. All it does is throw me off balance."

The look my mentor gave me pretty much confirmed my own suspicion that my protests were in vain. Apparently, I was going to learn to use a shield even if it killed me. Of course, after escaping Werewolves and one very insane sorcerer, I guess he thought it should be obvious why I needed to learn how to use a shield. And, I thought it was just as obvious why I didn't need to train with something that I would never use.

If there was one thing I have learned since being invited to stay in Narnia just over two months ago, it was that arguing with a Centaur is pretty much a study in futility. Did it stop me from trying? No. This would explain why I was standing in the armory trying to convince General Oreius that the past two weeks of added shield training had been a waste of time. It wasn't going well.

"Katerina Alambiel, when you have learned to hold and use the shield properly it will no longer throw you off balance, and since the only way to learn to use it properly means training, you will train with a shield until I say otherwise." With that, the good general handed me the shield and left the armory. I assumed that meant I was expected to shut up, suit up, and get my little self down to training yard.

I finally got into my new armor and reluctantly picked up my shield. I left the armory and tried not to sigh when I realized winter was well and truly on us with the clouds promising snow sometime today or tonight and my breath forming white puffs. Did I mention that training takes place before sunup? It's cold, it's dark, and I was sleep-deprived from a nightmare. Did any of that matter to Oreius? Nope, he apparently had a motto similar to the United States Postal Service: "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night will stay this Centaur's regimen of training (inducing groans from his students)." Okay to be fair, he didn't know I was sleep-deprived if only because Sherket had recently stopped being a consistent babysitter over me at night and couldn't tattle on me.

Did my sleep deprivation have any bearing on what happened that day in training? Possibly. I was still fiddling with the shield straps trying to tighten it a little more when I entered the training courtyard. The kings, Peter and Edmund, were there and already dueling each other under the watchful eyes of the Faun Captain Cletus, while Oreius was waiting for me at the opposite end of the courtyard. I pulled Chrysaor, the sword of Esti, from its sheath and crossed the courtyard to stand in front of the Centaur. Since my normal movements had grown rather klutzy since the new torture of carrying a heavy chunk of metal on my arm had been introduced, I congratulated myself on drawing Chrysaor smoothly this time. Of course, as soon as I did so, I immediately had to go on the defensive as Oreius slashed his two swords down at me. I automatically dodged to the side, earning myself a growled instruction to "Use your shield!"

Resisting the urge to growl right back, I forced myself to raise my shield and strike with Chrysaor at the same time, which was difficult considering the fact that I prefer to hold Chrysaor with both hands. Oreius easily blocked my strike with one sword and slammed his other sword against my shield with enough force that I staggered back a step. He gave me that look I was quickly learning meant I was going to be sore when he finally released me from training and I braced myself just in time to receive another heavy hit across the shield. Amazingly, I didn't stumble that time, I slid instead...not really an improvement, by the way.

Now I may have gained enough weight to be allowed to train again, but that meant absolutely nothing when a fully armored adult Centaur male was pushing me back as if I were an overgrown ragdoll. I finally managed to dig in with the toes of my boots and Oreius paused his advance for a split second, which was all I needed to bring Chrysaor up to knock one of his swords away from me while I dropped into a slight crouch. If Oreius wanted me to use my shield, then that was exactly what I planned to do. After all, he never exactly specified how I was supposed to use my shield. I wasn't vindictive, just highly motivated...okay, maybe I was a tiny bit vindictive. Dropping into the crouch had allowed me to creep inside Oreius' reach, so I hopped back up and slammed my shield against his sword right where his fingers were wrapped around the pommel.

Needless to say, my creativity was not very...appreciated...as Oreius willingly demonstrated with an arm-numbing blow against my shield before he followed with a hard strike against Chrysaor. He didn't let up at all as he started hammering me with a barrage of blows and, all too soon, I had lost Chrysaor. Miraculously, I hadn't been "killed" yet so I was still in the game if I could grab Chrysaor again. I held my shield up at an angle and, his swords slid off without my poor arm receiving the full impact for the first time that morning, then I ducked under his backhand stroke and dashed for Chrysaor.

I still hold that I would have been faster if not for the chunk of metal hanging from my left arm. Consequently, I reached Chrysaor and Oreius attacked before I could grab the sword. I was half-crouched with my right hand stretched out to grab Chrysaor when Oreius swung both swords at my head and I barely managed to raise my shield in time to meet the blow. Oreius may have hit my shield a little harder than he meant to or maybe it was the fact that I was in a partial crouch and hadn't time to brace myself or possibly a combination of the two, I still don't know. Whatever the cause, the next thing I knew was that I was flying across the courtyard and, out of habit, I tried to break my fall by throwing my left hand out.

There were two problems with that plan. One, I was wearing a heavy chunk of metal on my left arm. Two, I landed at a weird angle on the only patch of ice present in the entire training yard. At that moment, I could not have hated Murphy more. My gloved hand slid on the ice so I landed with my full weight on my shield arm. As my hand slid on the ice, my arm slid forward in the shield straps so the edge of the shield was resting against my forearm and I could feel the bone cracking as my weight grounded forearm into shield and shield into very, very solid ground. Breathing deeply through my nose, I rolled over onto my back and tried not to scream at the sheer agony radiating from my arm. I closed my eyes and didn't move as I waited for the pain to subside until I no longer wanted to scream bloody murder. It took them a moment to realize that I was actually hurt and not shaking it off like I usually did, but then the clatter of hooves and armor warned me that the four males in the courtyard were running to my side. Taking another deep breath, I managed to open my eyes to see the four of them skidding to a halt around me although I kept my mouth shut since I didn't want to scare them even more by screaming.

Cletus was looking rather pale as he knelt down by my head and reached to carefully unfasten my pitifully loose shield straps. "Don't move, Katerina." I couldn't help thinking that was one of the silliest things you could tell someone who is already on the ground in agony. However, I didn't say this out loud if only because I was preoccupied with hissing in pain when he slid the shield off my arm with Peter's help. I blinked back tears as a new wave of agony washed over me, courtesy of Cletus' removing the shield and then poking my arm. Oreius leaned over to get a better look at my arm and Cletus mercifully stopped his poking as the Faun Captain pronounced solemnly, "I'm afraid it's broken." Well, I could have told them that as soon as I landed on it.

Oreius frowned and I couldn't help wondering what was going through his mind at that moment. He was probably trying to figure out how in the world I managed to break my own arm with my own shield. He wouldn't get any help from me because I lived through it and I still don't know how I achieved that particular feat. He looked from me to Peter and Edmund who were still standing nearly on top of me even though Cletus had already backed away somewhat. Oreius spoke in a clear, no-backtalk-allowed voice as he locked eyes with first Peter and then Edmund. "I will take Katerina Alambiel to Alithia. Wolfsbane, How, continue your lesson with Captain Cletus until he dismisses you." After the two brothers reluctantly walked away, Oreius looked down at me as I was still sprawled on the ground in almost the exact position I had landed. "Can you stand?"

"Of course, I broke my arm not my back." I can be a little grouchy when injured, by the way. Oreius ignored my sarcasm and hauled me to my feet before he guided me with a hand pressed against my back into the armory. I had already learned that I could trust Oreius and I did trust him probably more than anyone else in Narnia, but when he first touched my back, it took every ounce of self-control I had to keep from flinching away. I took a deep breath to calm myself because such a reaction would have prompted questions that I was not ready to answer. Fortunately, Oreius must have assumed my reaction was connected with my known injury as he made me stand still long enough for him to undo the fastenings on my cuirass, which I was able to pull off with one hand, and then he carefully helped me to slide the leather jerkin over my injured arm without too much added pain. I caught a glimpse of something in his eyes that looked suspiciously like guilt but before I could even think of what to say, Oreius hustled me out of the armory and, making sure I kept up by putting his left hand on my right shoulder, he led me to the healer's room used primarily by Alithia.

Alithia had tended my wounds after I fought Jannes and she was one of the only two people in all of Narnia who knew of my secret, part of it anyway. Fortunately, they both were the best secret-keepers I had ever met so no one else knew. I rather liked Alithia, although to be honest, I thought she was a lot scarier than Oreius. Her temper could almost rival my own, so even though she was actually on the small side for a Centaur, I'm pretty sure she scared everyone including Oreius. Of course, she was not at all pleased to see Oreius bringing me for her ministrations because of a training accident.

Her chocolate brown hair had fallen in front of her eyes when she looked up at our approach, but that didn't stop her from seeing that Oreius and I weren't there for non-healing business. Alithia's grey eyes darkened as she pushed her hair back then gestured for me to take a seat. Not about to test her patience, I obediently took a seat on the slightly raised cot though I was privately thankful there was a low stool for me to step on otherwise it would have been somewhat uncomfortable to hop up there. Alithia rolled my sleeve up, took one look, and then glared at Oreius who was essentially hovering just out of the healer's way. "Shield training?"

He nodded, "She had a difficult landing after I-"

Alithia cut him off as she pressed her fingers against my arm and I jumped from the pain, giving another hiss as I did so. "After you sent her flying across the courtyard again. She is fortunate not to have broken her neck this time." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Oreius glance from me to my arm then down to the floor and there had definitely been guilt in that glance. I wished Alithia would stop pressing on my arm so I could catch my breath and tell Oreius that he had no reason to feel guilty…this was hardly the first time I had experienced a broken bone in my life. She paused in her administrations to give first him then myself measuring looks before she grabbed bandages and a splint. Then, she continued speaking in a calmer tone as she offered her assessment of my latest injury as she began wrapping my forearm. "Well, Katerina Alambiel, it seems you were fortunate enough to have avoided a bad break. The outer bone of your forearm is cracked just above your wrist, but it should be completely healed in about six weeks. Now, there is to be no more shield training for you, understand?"

She glared at Oreius and I until we nodded then shooed us out of her healing room with my forearm splinted, wrapped, and tucked in a sling that I was not allowed to take off except for when sleeping. Standing in the deserted hallway outside Alithia's healing room, I looked up at Oreius. He was having difficulty hiding the guilt now and I desperately floundered for something to say that would help. "I told you the shield was a bad idea."

I could tell he wasn't expecting me to say that, but then he smirked and shook his head with a sigh. "You, Katerina Alambiel, are the only student I have ever had who broke their arm with their own shield. You're also the only one who can land properly every time except when wearing a shield. But, in this case, I suppose you were right."

I couldn't help the rather large smile that spread across my lips as I realized I had actually won the argument, but I decided to press for some confirmation. "So between my amazing landing skills and Alithia's orders, does this mean I don't have shield training anymore?"

Oreius folded his arms across his chest as he stared down at me, but I was happy to see there was a faint smile tugging at his mouth as he answered. "Considering that Alithia would come after me if I even thought about putting you through more shield training and only Aslan knows what else you would manage to break, yes, Katerina Alambiel you no longer have to train with a shield. And, you are not to attend training for the next two weeks. I don't want you to aggravate your injury and make it worse. Now, go do something with yourself that won't lead to injury."

With that final admonition, we parted ways. I don't know what he did, but I ran into Lucy almost immediately and she insisted on knowing what happened. After I had told her, she asked me why I was so cheerful after being hurt. I leaned forward and whispered, "It might be painful, but it was definitely worth it because I actually won an argument against General Oreius." She giggled and I smiled then we wandered off to meet her siblings for breakfast.

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**A/N: Please Read and Review! This is a short little story taking place in the sixth month time gap between chapters one and two of _A Light in the Darkness: Shadowed_. If you haven't read _A Light in the Darkness: Awakening_ and the first three chapters of its sequel _Shadowed_, I highly recommend you do so as it will help this story make more sense. Of course, if you prefer to give this a whirl by itself, I suppose you can but I can't promise it will make as much sense. For those of you who have read everything in the _A Light in the Darkness_ series, don't worry I haven't forgotten about _Revealed_, but here's the infamous shield incident. Peace offering until I fix the next chapter of _Revealed_ to my satisfaction, deal? Hope y'all enjoyed it. Click the little button below and let me know what y'all think, especially since this is the first time I've written a story in first person pov. **


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.

Summary: Not all shields look as we expected... Not all shields are physical...

Chapter Two

I never realized how boring a palace could be until the shield incident. The palace of Cair Paravel was huge and, although I often accompanied Lucy when she had a free moment and even Susan sometimes, I still wasn't comfortable with the notion of exploring it on my own. After all, there were still Narnians close to the Kings and Queens who looked askance at my presence and relative freedom. My actions at Satyr Alaois' military hearing had both positive and negative results from the army. Many had been swayed by the fact I had stood for Alaois in spite of what he had done and were more inclined to at least introduce themselves when they encountered me. However, those who already resented my presence and had doubts that I was who I said I was (i.e. not a witch) became even more belligerent and blamed me for Alaois' misconduct and his demotion. So far, Alaois himself had avoided being anywhere near me, which was a bit of a relief.

Anyway, I was bored out of my mind by the ninth hour on Thirdday, which was only the second full day I had off since the shield incident, and I decided to do something different, something that did not involve me staring at the ceiling and walls of my chambers. I peeked out into the hall and spotted Ptah, one of the Leopards who often acted as my guard/escort. Seeing he wasn't busy, or so he told me, I asked him if he knew where I might find drawing materials. He gave me a strange look, but asked me to wait in my parlor while he inquired after the matter. I had a suspicion that he might have been under orders not to let me wander around looking for stuff because who knew what trouble would come after me. Twenty minutes and three slightly nervous Fauns later, the parlor was covered in stacks of paper and other drawing tools. Ptah may have been a tad excessive in his quest for materials, but I was thrilled to have the chance to flesh out an idea that had been brewing since October, or Frostmoon as the Narnians called it. I set to work with a curious (nosy) Ptah looking over my shoulder the entire time.

I was no Da Vinci, but I did have some skill although it would have been easier if I hadn't kept trying to reach out and adjust the paper with my sling-bound left arm. After over four hours' worth of work and several painful reminders of why I was doing this in the first place, I finally had a sketch that I was happy with and I showed it to Ptah. He tilted his head as he peered from my sketch to me. "I see, this is good. But, what exactly do you plan to do with it?"

I couldn't help grinning in satisfaction as I stated, "I'm going to take it to someone who might be able to bring it to life." Ptah had been somewhat dismayed at my decision and I finally pried out of him that both Oreius and Alithia had given him and others the strict instruction that they should _discourage_ me from running off without an escort until I was completely healed. Honestly, I thought he was more afraid of what Alithia would do to him than Oreius...not that I blamed him.

After promising Ptah that I would avoid anything that looked remotely dangerous, such as Alithia and Oreius, I hurried down to the forge, and found Baumur the chief smith muttering over a familiar dented shield. He scowled up at me, "What do you want, girlie? I heard you was told to stay away from here by the general and the healer because you got hurt. Bah, I spend all this time making you the finest armor, and then the girlie gets hurt once and all that work goes to waste."

According to Edmund this was typical Dwarf behavior, especially for a Black Dwarf like Baumur, so I ignored his grumbling and cut to the chase. "Oreius said I couldn't go to the training grounds, he said nothing about the forge. It's a temporary situation by the way, and don't call me 'girlie'. Now, I was going to see if you might be up to a challenge, but now I think I'll just go to Corvin instead."

Drawing on what little Edmund had mentioned about Dwarf politics, I threw out the Red Dwarf smith's name just to see if I could get Baumur's attention. It worked as he immediately threw up a hand, "Wait a moment, girlie, what kind of challenge do you think I wouldn't take but the redbeard would?"

I hid a grin, after all, it wouldn't do to let Baumur know I was bluffing, and casually held up my folded sketch. "I was just wondering if it would be possible to make something like this." I handed him the sketch, which he eagerly spread out on the workbench in front of him and motioned for me to keep talking as he examined it. "I know it's a bit rough, but can you tell me if it's feasible?"

Baumur nodded thoughtfully without ever taking his eyes off the parchment as he answered. "Aye, girlie, this is clear enough to create a real design. Now how long do you need it?"

"About the length of my forearm from the handle to the blade tip, and I need two. If you have time to tinker with such a thing, but if you are too busy..."

Baumur actually looked like he would fight me if I tried to take the sketch back, which he possessively moved further away from me. "No, no, girlie, this be a little diversion but I shall do it anyway. I need to fix some aspects to make it a real design, but I will do it." He stopped and looked me up and down with the same critical eye as when he had been poking and prodding me when determining the type of armor I was best suited for three weeks ago. "I suppose you also want a way to hide these on your person. Because we all know that a girlie can't always have her weapons hanging off her. Another inconvenience brought about by having a human girlie in the army." He scowled at me again and pointed towards the door as he growled, "Bah, be off before the centaur finds you here and I get dragged into more delays to my work."

I turned around to hide my grin as Baumur muttered and complained behind me, but I noticed he had already set the shield aside and pulled out his own tools before I had moved an inch. My mission of getting the chief smith to help bring my idea to life now completed, I quickly headed for the door. For as the good Dwarf had pointed out, I really didn't want to get caught by Oreius inside the forge...I could just picture that scene and it wouldn't be pretty. Walking up the hall from the forge, I remembered that I was supposed to meet Lucy and Edmund in one of the solariums so I picked up my pace in hopes of not being completely late. Then Murphy struck again as I rounded the corner and promptly bounced off someone taller than me.

I didn't fall over, but only because the person I had crashed into managed to grab my good arm and pulled me upright. I looked up to see a Centaur who I remembered was a Captain in the army. Actually, if I recalled correctly he was the Centaur Captain who had been there when the Kings came to rescue Lucy from Jannes. He looked amused and never took his eyes off my face as he said, "I see now why you two are so concerned."

I shut my eyes and resisted the sudden impulse to run and hide as I recognized the next voice to speak. "Indeed, Ardon, it seems that Katerina Alambiel has a talent for showing up in unexpected places." I opened my eyes and resigned myself to the fact that my promise to Ptah had just flown out the window and probably the country too as I met the less than thrilled gazes of the two Centaurs on either side of Ardon: Oreius and Alithia. Ardon let go of my arm as Oreius turned his full attention to me, "So, Katerina Alambiel, where were you going in such a hurry?"

I was a little confused that he hadn't immediately called me out for coming out of the forge...after all, the hall I had just run out of only went to the one place. However, if he wanted to ignore my technically non-breach of his specific instructions, I was more than happy to oblige him. "I am supposed to meet Lucy and Edmund in the solarium and I am running a bit late."

Oreius raised an eyebrow at me, "Which solarium are you meeting their majesties in?"

I opened my mouth to answer only to have to shut it again as I realized I had absolutely no idea. "Well, I don't know. Wait, exactly how many solariums are there?"

The three Centaurs exchanged an amused glance before Ardon looked down at me and answered with a low rumble that sounded suspiciously like laughter, "There are twenty-three different solariums in the main palace of Cair Paravel."

The Centaurs were obviously enjoying my shock far too much as I only managed to get out a quiet "Oh." I looked up at the ceiling and muttered, "I am going to be lost for years before I figure out which one is the right one."

Oreius smirked at me as he started down the hall to my left, "Since their majesties are expecting you today and not years from now, Katerina Alambiel, we will make sure you get to the correct solarium. Come on." I decided it was safer to follow Oreius' instructions than to argue and get myself completely lost until the guards finally took pity on me and pointed me in the right direction. The four of us made our way to the solarium and soon I could already hear the sound of Lucy's cheerful chattering filtering out of the room just around the corner from us. I was about to step forward when Oreius clapped a hand onto my shoulder, effectively stopping me in my tracks. I looked up and he gave me the same warning glare he often graced Peter and Edmund with when they were about to do something foolish in his training yard. He kept his voice low as Ardon and Alithia trotted past us. "Katerina Alambiel, I do not know why you were in the forge nor do I feel the need to know. However, until your arm has healed completely, you are to stay out of the training yard and the forge, understood?"

There was no sense in arguing with him, especially since I had already accomplished my goal for the forge, so I nodded. "Of course, Oreius. But, just so you know, it is rather unfair to put so much pressure on Ptah to keep me...out of mischief."

Oreius snorted then gently squeezed my shoulder, "Ptah volunteered to be nearby should you need anything. It is his own fault that he volunteered to do so within Alithia's hearing. All I said was he needed to do his best to keep you relatively secure. It was Alithia who started in on explaining what would happen if you were not encouraged to stay calm and quiet instead of wandering around the Cair getting into mischief. Come, you mustn't keep their majesties waiting any longer." Oreius' comment only served to confirm my suspicion that Alithia was the scarier of the two, but I didn't say anything as I fell into step with him as we walked into the solarium.

Spending time with Lucy and her siblings was always revealing, especially when Edmund was the victim...ahem, guest of her impromptu gatherings. I truly liked Lucy as it would take someone with a true heart of stone to dislike her, but she had absolutely no concept of personal space. If you were her friend, then you had best prepare yourself to be trapped in her touchy-feely ways no matter how unaccustomed to it you might be. Edmund, on the other hand, while he wasn't completely standoffish, he was not nearly as touchy-feely as the rest of his family. I appreciated that and I think he appreciated the way I took care to avoid encroaching on his space, but there was a small elephant in the room every time we were left together. We both had born the name of 'traitor' though mine was solely accusatory in nature and we had both been touched by evil, albeit in completely different ways. I understood him better than even he realized. Edmund hadn't completely relaxed around me, at least not the way his siblings had, and I suspected it was due to the fact he felt I might judge him. It was a misconception I intended to fix as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

Fortunately, the opportunity presented itself at the little get-together. Lucy had been distracted by the presence of one Mr. Tumnus who had come for a surprise visit and I had wandered off to the far side of the solarium to give them some time together. The nice thing about being in a huge palace is most of the rooms are by default very large, so it was easy to put enough space between myself and the small gathering that I could breathe. Crowded situations are definitely not one of my favorite things, but I've gotten use to adapting to such things. As I walked along the far wall, I ran into someone else who had chosen to escape the excitement. Edmund was leaning against the wall watching the activities until he noticed me.

With slight nod, he shifted over creating more than enough room for me to join him. I accepted the unspoken invitation. We watched the room's occupants visiting with one another in silence for several minutes until Edmund broke the silence in a low almost-whisper. "So, you managed to get yourself broken and banned from training almost faster than Peter did. How long?"

I glanced over at where Alithia had now joined the conversation between Lucy and Tumnus and fiddled with the edge of my sling as I replied in an equally low tone. "Two weeks of no training and six for complete healing. So, I have to get through one week, four days and ten, no, nine hours before I can do something again."

As I had hoped, Edmund smirked and shook his head in mock-disbelief. "You are actually keeping that close a watch on how long before you can harass the sword masters of Cair Paravel again? You really are as bad as Peter." I thought that might have been a compliment and took it as such, even though I just shrugged. Edmund was relaxing a little more around me than he usually did and suddenly he whispered, "Why were you so easy on Alaois? I admire what you did, but I don't completely understand why you chose to show him so much mercy."

I glanced around but the only people remotely close to us were Oreius and Ardon, who seemed to be deep in their own conversation. I turned to face the too-old eyes of an eleven-year-old boy who was the Just King of Narnia. "I'm quite familiar with both justice tempered by mercy and justice without such temperance. I have found that it is harder for a person to endure justice with mercy than without because they know they deserved worse. This fact troubles them far more than accepting the harsher justice they know they earned, so in reality, I didn't go easy on Alaois at all." I paused as I touched the two pendants of cross and lion hanging from my necklace then continued in an even quieter voice, "I believe mercy allows people to see more clearly than even justice alone. Everyone has failings, Edmund, it's just that some people's failings are more public than others. I will not judge a person solely by their failings but by what they do in the aftermath. The aftermath proves their character far more than the actual failing, no matter how terrible that failing might have been."

Edmund looked at me in stunned silence as I prayed he understood everything I had said and left unsaid. Then, he slowly nodded and I saw the acknowledgment of the dual meaning contained in my words in his dark gaze. I watched the residual tension drain from this boy, this King, and he grinned at me as he asked in a much louder tone, "And, just how did you manage break your own arm with your own shield, Kat?"

I blinked at him and then I realized his question had echoed loudly during a brief lull in the conversations occupying everybody else in the room. Everyone's eyes immediately swung to us, okay me, and I glared at the eleven-year-old imp staring at me with an innocent face and eyes full of silent laughter. I answered in the clearest and driest voice I could muster, "With talent."

There was a beat and then Lucy's giggles filled the air until nearly everyone in the solarium was laughing with her. Edmund was nearly bent double from his laughter and I looked over to see all three Centaurs were grinning. I rolled my eyes at them and their grins widened. Oreius gave a slight nod and I could see approval mixed in with the amusement in his gaze. I had a feeling Oreius, at least, had overheard my conversation with Edmund and had conveniently positioned himself and Ardon where they could shield us from sight for most of the room until our conversation had returned to lighter topics.

Of course, my brilliant retort to Edmund's teasing circled around the entirety of Cair Paravel by evening meal so, starting the next morning, whenever someone was asked how he or she had managed to accomplish something a bit unbelievable, they invariably answered "With talent." I could only marvel at how fast the Narnian grapevine worked and later laughed, well, smiled, along when someone had the audacity to say it in my presence...usually Edmund and Peter. Aside from my soon-to-be revealed legacy, I left the solarium pleased that I had managed to pull down one of the last barriers between Edmund and myself while reminding him of the far-reaching effects of mercy. As a wise man had once told me, "Mercy is one of the most effective shields against hate and even guilt that we have been granted. We just have to know how to use it properly."

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**A/N: Please Read and Review! Hopefully, y'all enjoyed this chapter. The quote at the end is one I made up, hence no extra disclaimer for this chapter. Virtual cupcakes to anyone who happens to guess which old man Kat is referring to here. :) I'm still working on the next chapter of ****_Revealed_****, promise, it's just proving a mite difficult to hammer out the kinks before I post it. Look for more chapters coming soon. Click the little button below and let me know what y'all think. Also, if there's anything you would like to see show up in this story, let me know and I'll do my best to include it.**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.

Summary: Not all shields look as we expected... Not all shields are physical...

Chapter Three

24 Stormfall 1001

There is a good reason that Narnians refer to the month of November as Stormfall...thunderstorms, snowstorms, just about any kind of storm you can think of, it tends to hit Narnia in November. Now, for the most part, storms don't bother me unless they wake me up in the middle of the night with a huge clap of thunder right on the heels of a nightmare. I jerked upright as a streak of lightning illuminated my room with my heart pounding in my chest and for one terrifying moment I thought I was back in that place I now only visited in my nightmares. I jumped as another clap of thunder sounded right outside my window, but this time I thanked God for it because it shook me out of the last remnants of my nightmare. I took a fortifying breath then crawled out of bed and walked over to the window, pulling the drapes back I immediately had to shield my eyes as more lightning flashed across the sky.

Fortunately, I remembered to raise my right arm and not my left, so I actually avoided aggravating my injury. Dropping my arm, I leaned a little closer to the window and marveled at how a thunderstorm had been turned into a snowstorm. It was too cold now for rain, so instead Cair Paravel was receiving thunder and lightning with a side of snow. Another clap of thunder sounded and I felt the glass beneath my fingers tremble as the entire window rattled from the force. In that moment, I made the decision that there was no way I was even going to attempt to sleep through the storm.

I pulled the drapes in my bedroom close and then changed into a warm tunic and trousers. After tugging on my boots, I wandered into my parlor with every intention of sitting in there until daylight finally came around. However, a flash of lightning illuminated the entire room including the water clock sitting on the mantle over the fireplace, which showed it was about an hour past midnight, and I decided to see who was in the hall. Half hoping to spot Ptah or even Sefu, I was a little confused to see no one at all. Perhaps the storm was fierce enough that even the nocturnal inhabitants of the Cair were hiding out.

I hesitated in the doorway wondering if I really wanted to roam the halls of Cair Paravel in the middle of the night. A particularly loud clap of thunder sounded behind me and I jumped into the hall. At that moment, I decided anything was better than sitting through the storm with nothing to distract me from it...even getting myself lost in the Cair. I comforted myself with the knowledge that I was not going to head for the armory and the training grounds or the forge, so I wasn't breaking any of the promises binding me for the next six days and twenty-three hours. No broken promises, no angry Centaurs.

After wandering down one hall after another after another after yet another, I was starting to rethink the whole 'let's get lost in order to avoid the storm' plan. I also had the nagging feeling that I was being watched and had been for a while now. Not to mention the fact that not only had I gotten completely lost but I was going in circles...unless Cair Paravel had the exact same motif of Aslan surrounded by a circle of sun bursts with His banner over His right shoulder carved into more than one wall directly across from a large window. Possible, but highly unlikely. Another flash of lightning illuminated the carving, but then a sleek shadow glided across it before disappearing. I casually glanced over my shoulder, but there was nothing in front of the window or beside it that would have cast the shadow.

Puzzled and, I'll admit it, more than a little curious, I started to quietly make my way down the hall I had seen the shadow heading towards before it disappeared. I spotted the tip of a tail darting around a column head of me and I knew I was on the right track. I knew that it couldn't be an enemy because there was no way they could have sneaked this far into the main palace without some type of alarm being raised, storm or no storm. I became so engrossed in following the shadowy form that I actually forgot about the storm raging just outside until a flash of lightning allowed me to clearly see that the shadow I had been following was a Fox. I paused when the Fox stopped in front of a door then let himself in, for a moment, I considered not following, but then I looked around and realized I had no clue where I was or how to get back to my rooms. I really needed to pay better attention to my surroundings when chasing after random shadows.

Knowing I had to ask someone for directions if I ever wanted to get back to my rooms, I opted to ask the Fox. The door he had slipped through was cracked open, but I didn't hear any sounds coming from inside. I pushed the door open and froze when I saw the room was occupied by more than just the Fox. The Fox was perched on the ledge running underneath a huge window that covered the far wall from floor to ceiling talking to none other than Oreius and Ardon, who had been facing away from me until they heard the door open. Another flash of lightning lit up the room while I stayed motionless inside the doorway. Ardon beckoned me to step further into the room as he rumbled, "Come in, Katerina Alambiel, or do you intend to stand there all night?"

Ardon was not someone who you refuse lightly, especially since he was one of the biggest Centaurs I had seen during my stay in Narnia. I mean he was at least a head taller than Oreius who's a good foot taller than I and I stand just under six feet. In short, Ardon was a bronze giant of a Centaur who definitely towered over me that night as he crossed the space between us. I let him guide me to the center of the room and Ardon grinned down at me before he turned his attention back to Oreius and the Fox, who I realized was the same Fox I had seen among the royals' advisors the two times I had been called before the royal family and their council. He was looking rather smug as he looked from me to the Centaurs and said, "I don't know why you're complaining, General. You did say you needed to speak with her."

Oreius didn't answer the Fox instead he looked at me, "Katerina Alambiel, the one who led you here tonight is Sir Rupert Grefftus Fox."

I inclined my head to the Fox and Sir Rupert returned the gesture, "It is an honor to be formally introduced to you, my dear Lady Katerina. If I do say so myself, you are quite adept at tracking. Something that your instructors should take into account perhaps." He paused then added, "Well, it seems my task is done, so I'll be off. Good night, Lady Katerina."

I barely stifled a laugh at the look Ardon had given Sir Rupert on being excluded from the niceties, while the Fox quickly slipped out the door. The huge Centaur just shook his head and muttered, "Foxes" before he glanced at Oreius then he followed the Fox out of the room.

After a moment, I let my curiosity come to the fore and I crossed to stand by Oreius as he watched the storm raging on the other side of the glass. I toyed with the end of my braid before I finally asked, "Why did Sir Rupert say you needed to speak with me, Oreius?"

"I told Rupert that I needed to speak with you this week on a private matter. When the Fox volunteered to pass the message on to you when next he saw you, I didn't realize he would do so in the middle of the night."

I decided that was good time to interject before poor Rupert got the blame for what was really my doing. "Actually, Oreius, Sir Rupert never really passed on the message. See, I was already up and followed him when he passed me in one of the halls. I only came in here to ask for directions." I paused and Oreius raised an eyebrow as he waited for me to continue, which I did by trying to put the focus back on him. "So, what is the private matter you wanted to talk to me about?" Nothing like redirection, although I have since learned that it only works with Oreius when he allows it.

Oreius folded his arms and stared down at me for a moment before he stated the last thing I expected to hear. "I wanted to ask you how you've become so skilled at influencing other people to let their guard down around you when you refuse to let the majority of your own barriers down."

I was too shocked to form a real response, so all that came out was, "What?"

Oreius circled around me and I turned to keep sight of his face even as it struck me we were repeating our actions from that night over two months ago when he had questioned me about what we later learned was Jannes' doing. The biggest difference was that night I had been infuriated by his questions but tonight I was simply confused. He finally stopped moving as he broke the silence, "Four days ago you assured King Edmund that you did not think of him as a traitor and he believed you. He and the other royals all count you as a friend, but do you count them as friends in return?" He paused but I had no answer to give him just yet and he knew it. I don't know how but I know that somehow Oreius knew it and that was why he continued speaking, "From what I have seen, you do consider them and perhaps a few others as friends at least. However, you don't know how to let your guard down enough that those who wish to know you and be a true friend, a close friend, actually have a chance. You are hiding in plain sight, Katerina Alambiel, and I cannot help but wonder why?"

Again I didn't answer, but this time it wasn't because I had no answer, rather it was because I couldn't answer. Yes, I knew the difference between friends and close friends, but Oreius was right. I had almost forgotten how to let my guard down, but then I've not had a reason to do so in years. Oreius suddenly stepped closer and I stubbornly held my ground, but instead of answering his question, I simply stated, "There is nothing wrong with protecting myself."

Last time we had this type of conversation Oreius had pushed me into pointing out two of my scars. This time I was determined that no matter how hard he pushed, I was going to keep my remaining secrets and push back just as hard. Oreius suddenly stepped back and gave me an indecipherable look before he responded. "No, but the problem is that you are protecting yourself by barricading everyone out of your life. Not just your enemies, but those who would be your friends as well. You never reveal more than you absolutely have to and even that information is given grudgingly. I know because I can see it in your eyes before you manage to hide it. Just as I see the haunted looks when you think no one sees, and I know they are the remnants of the time in your past when someone hurt you...badly. That is something I would have known even if you did not have the scars on your hands. I will not push you to reveal your secrets, Katerina Alambiel, but there is a boon I would ask of you."

I believed him when he stated he would not push me, though I did not intend to reveal my darker secrets to anyone if I could find a way to avoid it. "What is this boon?"

"I ask you, Katerina Alambiel, to consider that if you lower the barricades you have established in the past, perhaps those of us who would be your close friends might serve to shield you from all types of harm. Consider my words and perhaps you will find that the best shield is not the one you wield but the ones others set around you. After all, there is more than one kind of shield in the world."

I paused before answering as I mulled over the boon Oreius was asking of me. Could I really break a life-long habit of keeping things to myself and protecting myself any way I was able? This was not the first time I had been told that I needed to let people in, but unlike when the Professor had spoken to me, I found that I was finally tired of keeping so many barricades between myself and others. I wanted...I wanted to let my guard down. I wasn't sure if I could do it, if I could take down all of those barricades I had out between myself and the world, but I wanted to try. My mind was made up and I answered before I could hesitate long enough to lose my courage, "I do not know if I can actually grant this boon you ask of me, but I give you my word that I will certainly do my best."

Oreius bowed his head in acceptance with my decision, and then he gave me a curious look. "Katerina Alambiel, you wouldn't happen to know why Baumur took your cuirass from the armory this past Sixthday, would you?"

I frowned as I tried to figure out what the chief smith would be doing with my cuirass of all things. I gave up with a shrug, as I had no idea how the Dwarfish mind worked. "I have no idea. Did you ask him?"

"Yes, he said he was taking it for maintenance." Oreius looked at me expectantly, but I just shrugged again. After all, I didn't know Baumur well enough to say what he was up to...unless...well, it just might have been related to the little project I gave him last week. However, Oreius didn't need to know about that, after all I could be wrong. He shook his head, apparently resigned to not having any answers for the mystery of Dwarfs because he finally asked me the one question I had expected to hear tonight. "Why did Rupert find you wandering the halls, Katerina Alambiel?"

"I got lost, but it was semi-intentional."

Oreius gave me a look that said he questioned my sanity before he calmly asked, "And, why were you trying to get lost? It's almost third hour, or did you also intend to avoid sleeping tonight?"

I raised a finger, "It's not that I was avoiding sleep, Oreius, it's that sleep was avoiding me. And, do you never sleep?"

Oreius smirked but he didn't allow me to redirect the conversation this time. "Yes, I do and more than you it seems." He paused and looked out the window then he turned back to me with that knowing look in his eyes. "The storm. You cannot sleep because you are afraid of the storm."

I scowled at him, "I wouldn't say I was afraid. I just couldn't sleep through it and I had no way of distracting myself except by wandering the halls." An extremely loud clap of thunder sounded on the heels of my statement and I nearly jumped out of my skin. However, I did jump forward so that I was directly beside Oreius with scant inches separating us. "Okay, I lied. I'm terrified of these types of storms; you know the ones that are directly overhead and very, very noisy."

Oreius raised an eyebrow at me and I barely kept myself from giving in to the urge to stick my tongue out at him. "You said you were trying to distract yourself earlier. I take it you have other methods of distracting yourself from such storms?"

I nodded, "Yes, before I came here, I would usually curl up with a book and read until the storm passed or until I was so tired that I fell asleep in spite of the storm. Reading was my escape and it was how people could get me to stay still long enough to recover from illnesses...and broken bones." I had to add the last bit, I just couldn't help myself.

Oreius rolled his eyes, "And, you do not mention this little fact until after you have driven Ptah, Sefu, and Heru to distraction for almost five days?"

I shrugged, "I was bored and you didn't ask."

Oreius stared at me and then he shook his head before he steered me towards the door. I was starting to wonder if I shouldn't have added the bit about the broken bones when he gestured for me to follow him into the hall. He glanced back and smirked, "Come, Katerina Alambiel, I wish to show you something that should make this next week more bearable for everyone."

I figured it would be better to indulge him than to argue, so I walked beside Oreius as he led the way through halls and up several flights of stairs. We passed a few soldiers on guard duty, but nobody said anything, one of the benefits of walking through Cair Paravel with the General of the Army, although I still got a few stares. Oreius finally stopped in front of a huge, beautifully carved pair of doors and I glanced at him, but he didn't say anything as he opened one door and gestured for me to step inside. I entered and fell in love at first sight.

It was a library, a huge library full of towering shelves with scores of books and that was just the ones I could see. I felt myself smiling with delight even as Oreius stepped in front of me and he chuckled softly when he saw my expression. "If I had known this would be your reaction, I would have brought you here sooner. Elwood is in charge of the library, and he can help you find any book you desire if it's here. However, I think you might want to start with a couple of books that should be over here."

Oreius led the way to a bookshelf to the right of the doors and I noticed there were tables and chairs scattered around the library. I promised myself that I would take advantage of my enforced rest and come explore the library to my heart's content for the rest of the week. Oreius pulled four books from the shelves, then he handed me the thinnest one. "You may carry one, Katerina Alambiel, and I won't tell Alithia that you've been wandering around without your sling. Agreed?"

I scowled at him, but reluctantly agreed. "Oh, all right, but only because Alithia is scarier than you."

Oreius chuckled then waved for me to head to the doors, which I did, but not without looking back with absolute longing. "Come, Katerina, I will show you a shortcut between the library and your rooms. Don't give me that look, I promise you can come back, perhaps during the daylight hours even."

True to his word, Oreius showed me a hall that functioned as a shortcut between the library the hall my chambers were situated on and this time I paid close attention to where we were going. I wanted to be able to find the library without asking for directions, especially if I was going to carry out my plan of visiting the library during the night when suffering from insomnia. I glanced down at the book I held in my right arm and a flash of lightning allowed me to see it was a collection of various legends and tales of Narnia. I couldn't wait to read it.

Oreius led me to my chambers and stayed long enough to put the other three books, all about Narnia's history, on my desk before he told me to get some sleep. As the door closed behind him, I carried the book I was still holding into my bedroom. Ignoring the storm still raging outside, I pulled off my boots and lit a single candle before I stretched out on the bed and quickly became engrossed in reading. Nevertheless, even as I happily fell back into this old habit of seeking refuge in books, the question sparked by Oreius' boon still lurked in the back of my mind: How did I let go of my own barricades and allow someone else to act as my shield?

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**A/N: Please Read and Review! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, especially those of you who were sent reeling by the latest chapter of ****_Revealed_****. Don't worry, there's more chapters coming for both ****_Shields_**** and ****_Revealed_****...but it might take some time to post because I've a paper to write and grad school paper trumps the stories in importance. Click the little review button below and let me know how I'm doing and if you like learning about what happened during the time gap. If there's a specific story or incident mentioned in ****_Shadowed_**** or ****_Revealed_**** that you want to know more about, let me know and I'll do my best to work it in.**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.

Summary: Not all shields look as we expected... Not all shields are physical...

Chapter Four

32 Stormfall 1001

Eight days after I was introduced to the new love of my life, Cair Paravel's massive and stuffed-to-the-gills-with-books library, I was supposed to meet with Captain Cletus for a light round of sword training in one of the lower training courtyards. I was still waiting to receive the end results of the little project I had given Baumur and he refused to relinquish my cuirass when Captain Cletus had attempted to acquire it for me yesterday, or so I was told by Edmund who had witnessed the exchange. Of course, the lack of cuirass (and my secret project) meant that Oreius had forbidden me (again) from participating in the regimen of training I had been pre-shield incident. He had informed me of this decision early yesterday morning, and I responded with the simple promise of causing him as much grief as I possibly could by not only running my 'escort' ragged but also by going through the armory and hiding whatever weapons and armor tweaked my fancy. My admittedly immature (but extremely fun to say) threat resulted in a compromise: I wouldn't return to full training for at least another week and Oreius would allow me to participate in light training under Cletus' supervision. I had a feeling that the main reason Oreius agreed to compromise was due to the fact that he wasn't sure if I was insane enough to carry out my threat. Actually, I don't know if I would have done it or not, but it would be rather entertaining to witness Oreius' reaction if I ever did it...from a safe distance, of course.

Anyway, the morning I was to begin training had turned out to be cold, somewhat dark (even at seven in the morning), and slightly damp from another storm front approaching. Oh, the joys of living by the ocean. I was walking a figure eight across the length of the courtyard and mulling over how I was to let others act as my shield while I waited for Captain Cletus to show up when I realized I was no longer alone. I looked up expecting it to be Cletus, but it wasn't the Faun Captain. Six soldiers had entered the yard, three Satyrs and three Fauns, and they were all staring at me with open hostility.

You know that little voice in your head, not the crazy one, I mean the one that tells you when you are in deep, deep trouble, right? Well, mine was clamoring like mad as the six soldiers (hooligans) slowly approached me. They were all armed and watching me like a cat watches a mouse...they were waiting for me to do something, to make a mistake. I had Chrysaor strapped to my back, but I didn't dare reach for it. Judging by the looks they were giving me, if I reached for the sword to protect myself, they would use it as an excuse to justify attacking me because I "threatened" them first. No, I wouldn't even touch my sword because I refused to let the bullies paint themselves as anything but what they were. Besides, there were always people roaming the various training yards, someone had to have noticed these six come in here after me and they would come check...at least I hoped that would happen.

I had faced enough bullies over the years to know the difference between the ones who would do something no matter who saw and the ones who would hold back until they felt they could get away with it or at least make a reasonable justification for their actions. Fortunately, these six were of the latter variety so Murphy didn't hate me as much that day. They came closer and I tried to move to where I could be seen from the archway leading into the courtyard, but they circled me before I could reach the right spot. It seemed to me that these six didn't want to end up in the same situation as Alaois, so instead they started to crowd me and then the snide, cutting remarks began. "Did you get lost, lady? I thought you were supposed to stay away from the training yards when...unsupervised."

"Or, do you imagine that you are really one of us? You're not and you should not try to be anything more than you are."

"A guest...temporary, Lion willing."

"An outsider."

"A pretender at fighting, who should never have been allowed to continue these attempts."

"You are not a Narnian, lady, and the only reason you were indulged in a foolish whim was to ensure you were not a...danger to others. However, I think it would have been a wiser course of action to cease the indulgence, especially in light of your injury a fortnight ago."

I refused to be taken in by their baiting and I just crossed my arms as I waited for them to tire of their game or maybe for someone to come who would make them scatter. It was a longer wait than I had hoped for, especially as the Satyr who seemed to be in charge of this little get-together suddenly stepped much closer until he was mere inches away from me. Now, that was pushing it. I was having difficulty controlling my temper and the urge to shove him away from me. I don't like it when I land in situations where I feel trapped.

Then the other five also closed in around me until I would have hit any one of them if I had tried to move at all. In fact, one of them jostled my left arm, which hurt and it was also really annoying because I had only been able to beg and plead with Alithia for permission to take off the sling the day before (and convincing her had been a lot harder than reaching a compromise with Oreius for training). Nevertheless, I didn't say a word if only because I couldn't trust myself to not say something that would cause even more trouble. Fortunately, just as the leader stared at me and opened his mouth to fire off another little gem about how I did not belong, a new voice echoed across the courtyard. "Laurus, are you not to report to Lieutenant Gemon for patrol this hour? I was certain those were your orders because the same were given to your companions as well. Was I mistaken?"

The leader, Laurus, grimaced before he stepped back and turned to face the one, or rather ones, who interfered with his attempts at goading me. His five cohorts looked a tad nervous, especially the three Fauns, as they turned around to meet the disapproving glares being handed out left and right by none other than Captain Ardon and General Oreius. I was torn between feeling happy that they had shown up (that their glares were _not_ directed at me for once was a definite bonus) and feeling irritated with them and myself for having to be rescued in a sense once again. However, I had to admit that was the only way I was going to get out of that particular situation, so my pride was a bit dented but I would survive. Under the Centaurs' combined glares, the Satyr Laurus led his group out of the training yard at a rather swift pace.

Ardon and Oreius looked over at where I was still standing with my arms crossed, and I could tell they were trying to figure out if I had been hurt. I uncrossed my arms and forced a grin before I shrugged, "I think I've made an impression on people here."

Ardon shook his head in amusement. "It would seem so, Katerina Alambiel. Though, perhaps, you might consider leaving a slightly different impression with that particular group of people."

I noticed that Oreius had narrowed his eyes at me and I searched for something that would distract him from whichever one of my secrets he was trying to figure out. I glanced from Oreius to Ardon and I commented in a dry, sarcastic tone, "You mean that wasn't a poor attempt at a group hug? I never would have guessed."

Ardon chuckled but Oreius just shook his head before he finally spoke up. "And, that was a poor attempt at diverting attention, Katerina Alambiel. What did they say to you?"

Over time, I had learned (been warned) that the honor and safety of women in Narnia was one of the things highly valued and respected by the men of Narnia, even though nobody expected women of Narnian stock to be a shrinking violet or completely unable to protect themselves. In fact, Narnian women were treated as the equals of men and their opinions were listened to and respected. But, if any male inhabitant of Narnia thought it possible that a female had been endangered in any way or form and she was for some reason prevented from acting against the threat, whoever was responsible had best run for it while they still could. I sighed and slid Chrysaor off my back (the odds of me training that morning had just gone from slim to none) before I answered Oreius, also known as the most overprotective being in all of Narnia (something the royals, especially Peter and Edmund, agreed with me on). "They said nothing that broke the laws of courtesy. They expressed their opinions and got a little close for comfort, but they didn't attack me or call me a witch. They just reminded me that I am still just a guest, nothing more."

Oreius held my gaze for a long while before he pressed one more time. "Are you certain?"

I nodded, "Yes, and I had everything under control. But thank you for making such a timely appearance, anyway."

Ardon chuckled again and Oreius rolled his eyes, although I wasn't sure if it was at Ardon, at my method of thanking him, or maybe both. Before I could ask, the Kings or rather Knights Sir Peter Wolfsbane and Sir Edmund How (short for Sir Edmund of the How) found their way into the training yard. They saw me and grinned before Peter spoke, "Oreius, you might wish to know that Chief Smith Baumur is in the armory looking for our Katerina. He came in muttering about cuirasses, special requests, and..." Peter paused and I noticed that suddenly neither one of those boys could look me in the eye before he managed to get the last part of the sentence out, although it sounded somewhat strangled by something suspiciously like laughter. "...and annoying girlies."

I was planning several different scenarios in which I could get that Dwarf when Ardon choked and Oreius coughed, and I stopped planning so I could glare at all four males. To their credit, they all managed to keep themselves from laughing (barely) and they had the sense to clear a path when I headed for the armory. Oh, if I didn't think making the Chief Smith disappear would land me in more trouble than he was worth...

"There you are, girlie!" I was starting to reconsider how much trouble the Dwarf was worth.

"I told you not to call me that, Baumur. Now, why were you looking for me?"

Baumur gave me a rather disgusted look before he pointed to where my cuirass was lying on a bench. "Why would I be looking for you? Why else than to make sure this request of yours is working properly, so if something goes wrong, it will be your fault, girlie. And, since you was smart enough to bring observers, there's no reason not to do this now."

My 'observers' exchanged looks then they turned to me expectantly. Well, I was going to pretend I didn't see them, so I moved the short distance between myself and the bench holding my cuirass and, hopefully, the project too. Edmund piped up right before I moved the cuirass, "You requested for Baumur to make something for you, he actually agreed to do it, and you didn't tell anyone?"

I nodded, "Sounds about right."

Peter stared at me then asked, "But, why not?"

"Simple. No one ever asked." I caught the look Oreius gave me and I quickly helped myself out of that little hole. "I was asked if I knew why Baumur took my cuirass, which I did not. However, no one asked me if I had _requested_ Baumur make me something." I waved for them to hush as I picked up the cuirass and was instantly distracted by what lay underneath it. They were perfect! And, they looked almost exactly like what I had sketched, but Baumur had added some extra details so it was a step above plain but nothing too ostentatious. I picked one up and felt the balance and weight of it, and it was balanced to the point that I wouldn't have to adjust at all if I were to throw it. I grinned at Baumur, "These are perfect, Baumur."

Baumur puffed his chest out in obvious pride, "Of course they are, never would have let them leave the forge if they was anything less."

I put the cuirass back down and picked up the other one, then gave them both an experimental twirl. I heard Edmund whispering, "Knives? All that secrecy for a pair of knives?" I ignored him as I worked on acquainting myself with the feel of these sai knives, yes sai knives, because I had chosen to give myself a bit more protection beyond the Sword of Esti and I based my design on a pair of sai knives I had once practiced with some years beforehand. I was still being careful with my left arm, especially in front of the 'observers', but I was able to do some basic moves.

Baumur nodded in satisfaction before he pointed to the bench again. "Now, girlie, how about you put on the cuirass? I want to see if the adjustments work the way they should. You was needing a way to hide those knives of yours, so I made you a sheath harness, which can be strapped underneath those tunics you wear, and then I inserted some sheaths into the cuirass next to the ribbing down the back here." After I obliged him by putting on the cuirass and sliding the knives into the hidden sheaths, Baumur rubbed his hands together. "Now, you should still be able to bend as needed without the knives or the sheaths interfering."

Oreius folded his arms as he interjected, "And, what happens if she cannot?"

Baumur gave a little shrug, "Well, there's the slight chance that the knives might prick her in the back. But, I doubt that will happen, now to get the girlie to bend." I was still stuck on the whole "prick her in the back" thing, which I had translated as "she might get stabbed in the back with her own knives."

I turned to Baumur with every intention of protesting, but I never got a chance as I forced to bend over backwards to avoid the battleaxe slashing through the air towards my neck. I was seriously reconsidering the amount of trouble that Dwarf was worth. The good news was I was bent backwards with my head level with my ankles and I hadn't been stabbed in the back. The bad news was I was bent backwards with my head level with my ankles. It was a good thing that I was actually flexible enough to pull that off.

I straightened and glared at Baumur who was nodding to himself in utter satisfaction as he put the battleaxe away. "Well, girlie, it seems this worked out fine. But, don't you be coming back to my forge with any more requests. I've enough work to do without indulging every fancy that strikes you." Like I was going to ask him for any more favors. One, he just tried to kill me...as a test! Two, I knew the only reason he agreed to do it in the first place was because he hadn't seen the particular knife design before I had given it to him. Dwarfs.

As the menace known as Chief Smith Baumur left the armory, I turned to face my 'observers' who had apparently enjoyed the little show of "Let's see if Katerina can avoid being chopped in half by the crazy Dwarf." Ardon looked at me and then at the knife I had pulled out when I was making sure I was still whole. "That is a clever idea for keeping a weapon handy without letting everyone now you are armed. Well done, Katerina Alambiel." He gave me a light smack to the back of the head before he left the armory.

I resisted the urge to rub the back of my head as I looked at the other three, Edmund grinned at me. "That means he likes you."

Peter glanced at his brother and laughed, "Might have told our Katerina that sooner, Ed. Come on, we're missing breakfast."

I shook my head at their retreating backs before I went through the process of undoing my cuirass. I glanced over at Oreius had been watching everything in silence, "So, when did I become 'their' Katerina?"

He chuckled as he offered me the sheath harness for my knives. "They first referred to you that way the day you and Queen Lucy were taken by Jannes' Werewolves. It became a habit these past two weeks in particular."

I grinned at him before I pulled my leather jerkin over my head, "So, I suppose it would be a waste of time to try and stop them from calling me 'their' Katerina? Kind of like it would be to get Baumur to not call me 'girlie' or to convince you and the other Centaurs to call me just 'Katerina' instead of calling me 'Katerina Alambiel' more often than not."

Oreius shrugged a little, "Baumur's a Black Dwarf, he's not going to change how he addresses you no matter what you say. The Royals aren't going to stop referring to you as 'their' Katerina unless you tell them it bothers you. And, you're just going to have to put up with being called by both names. They both suit you. Perhaps you should consider it as a sign of our...regard for you."

A sign of their regard? Well, I had to admit that I didn't really mind...except being called 'girlie' but who could blame me for that one? I finished putting my armor away and I grinned at Oreius as I wrapped the straps of the sheath harness around the sheaths themselves and tucked them under my arm. "If you say so, Kentauri." Oreius raised an eyebrow at me and I could feel myself blushing as I realized what I had called him. Then, I rolled my eyes at him. "Are you saying I can't hand out a nickname as a sign of my regard?"

He chuckled and gestured for me to precede him out of the armory (less chance of me escaping into mischief that way) as he answered, "No, I just didn't expect it." His expression sobered as we walked towards the palace, "The incident this morning should not have happened. I spoke with Cletus earlier and he was under the impression that you had bowed out of today's lesson last night, which was why he left with another patrol just before fifth hour without leaving a message for you. When I saw Chrysaor missing from the wall after dismissing the Kings from training, I knew there had been a...miscommunication of some type, so Ardon and I went to check."

I decided to shrug it off, "Well, nothing happened so I don't see what the fuss is about anyway. Besides, I guess this morning's incident is why you still don't let me train with the main army."

"Partly, but mostly because it is easier to train the only Humans in the entire army together. Therefore, tomorrow morn I expect to see you in the training yard with Wolfsbane and How. I want to see what else you can do with those knives of yours."

I grinned as I recalled my past lessons in close combat, "You might be surprised, Kentauri."

He smirked at me, "I don't doubt it, Katerina Alambiel."

It later hit me that I had actually lowered one of my barriers not only by allowing myself to accept these names of regard, but also by returning the favor with Oreius at least. Little by little, Narnia and several of her inhabitants were getting me to lower my barriers by simply allowing me to be myself. All in all, even with the earlier incident, it was actually a good way to start the day before I ensconced myself in my chambers with the newest set of books I had borrowed from the library the night before.

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**A/N: Please Read and Review! Sorry for the delay, it's been a busy week. Next chapter will be even more fun as a prank or two makes it into the story. Click on the little button below and let me know what y'all think.**


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.

Summary: Not all shields look as we expected... Not all shields are physical...

Chapter Five

As promised, on the last day of Stormfall I showed up in the training ground bright and...well, it wasn't bright but I did show up early, actually I was the first one to arrive in the armory. Yes, I admit it, I was actually excited to start training again...my only defense was to say I was really bored during my two weeks of forced absence from training. It had rained last night instead of snowing, but the torrential downfall had lightened to a steady drizzle, so I didn't think it would be too miserable during training, for me anyway. When it wasn't a full-out raging storm, I actually liked being in the rain. Although, I'll admit I was most excited about being able to work with my knives.

Peter and Edmund slid into the armory about thirty minutes after I arrived. They blinked at me before Peter laughed, "All that competition for nothing, Ed. Our Katerina beat us here and by a good bit too it seems."

Edmund smirked at his brother, "Well, I still beat _you_ here, Pete." He gave his older brother a friendly shove as he passed him to get his armor, then he looked at me and grinned. "So, are you ready to go train in the rain, Kat? After all, you managed to miss all the rain from the last fortnight."

I smiled at him, "A little rain never hurt anybody. And, don't worry, I won't melt."

"That is reassuring to know, Katerina Alambiel." I glanced over my shoulder to see Oreius had entered the armory and was looking at me with clear amusement. He moved to the side, which allowed Ardon to enter. Oreius assumed the look he used when training as he continued speaking. "You will be training solely with your knives this morn. And, since Captain Cletus is on patrol, you will be training with Ardon. Wolfsbane, How, you will spar against each other."

I looked up at Ardon, who gave me a reassuring grin before we walked out into the rain. I would say that I've fought bigger, but Ardon's huge so that would have been a lie. Ardon led the way to the far side of the training yard and I paused before following, just long enough to assess the terrain. The rain from last night had left the courtyard covered in puddles of rainwater and the continuing drizzle meant what wasn't under water was still slick. So, the terrain was slippery and somewhat treacherous, but if I could keep my footing, I would have the advantage.

We started out at a slower pace than I would have preferred, but I used the opportunity to learn as much as I could about Ardon's style of fighting in addition to carefully stretching my left arm so I wouldn't hurt myself when I began using more complicated moves. Ardon was using his claymore and he used it well. For a while, we went back and forth with simple attacks that we both easily blocked and parried. My left arm was as limber as it was going to be that morning, and so long as I didn't land on it or try to block too strong a hit, it wouldn't interfere with my strategy. Ardon realized I was ready to start the real sparring when I caught his claymore with both blades then slipped the right blade loose and slashed at his unprotected middle. Why should I tell, when I could just show?

Ardon increased his attacks and I easily dodged under and around the blows, all the while, I was working my way closer to him. I caught the edge of his claymore against my left blade and I allowed it to slide across, keeping my hand and arm from taking the bulk of the blow, then I dashed forward. I dropped my left arm, allowing his claymore to fall through the space my arm had just been in, and leapt up with a fast slash from both blades towards his vulnerable neck. He backed up and I dropped into a crouch as his claymore cleared the air where I had just been a breath ago. My left foot slid a little on the wet stone, but his own hooves slipping meant that Ardon didn't have time to take advantage before I was already moving again. I spun and hit the claymore with both blades, following through by crossing my knives and trapping the claymore between them briefly before I shoved up hard. His claymore went up and I dashed forward well within his guard. My right knife was aimed at his ribs when Ardon grabbed my wrist, halting the blade while he brought his claymore up to rest against the back of my neck. I blinked the rain out of my eyes and grinned up at the Centaur, "Gotcha. Kill."

Ardon looked at me and then he pulled his claymore back and raised his arm to see that while he had been focused on my right hand, I had managed to bring my left knife up to rest against his side just under the edge of his armor and his ribcage. If this had been a real fight, he would have been dead before he had the chance to bring the claymore up against me. Ardon let go of my wrist and I stepped back with the feeling that the man who had taught me how to fight in close combat, Charlie, would have been proud of the move I just pulled off. It seemed that Ardon was fairly pleased with my achievement as well since he gave me a light smack on the back of the head before we started another round of sparring.

After nearly two hours of sparring, Oreius finally called a halt. I was sore, my arm was aching, and my clothing was damp from rain and sweat, but I had thoroughly enjoyed myself for those two hours. I had managed to "kill" Ardon again, but the Centaur had happily returned the favor with gusto. So between us, Ardon had "died" twice and I had "died" about fourteen times...I was getting better. Oreius hadn't dismissed us yet when he called Ardon over and both sword masters disappeared into the armory, leaving the three of us in the training yard.

Peter and Edmund had wandered over to where the drinks had been set up on a table just under the eaves of the armory. I wasn't close enough to hear what they were talking about, but whatever it was, they looked rather serious. I couldn't help scowling as I watched these boys stop enjoying themselves before Oreius had even dismissed them. Peter had explained that he and his brother had agreement with Oreius and the other sword masters that in the armory and training yard, they were simply knights and students, but everywhere else, they were Kings first unless there was some type of emergency when Oreius would address them as knights and give them an order. I thought it was a wise arrangement, but I did wish they had a chance to be kids more often than I had seen. I mean they were eleven and fourteen, both younger than I was, and they really needed someone who would let them be themselves. I decided then and there that was going to be me, I would be the friend who allowed them to act their ages especially since I was not one of their subjects and thus had greater freedom to carry out such a plan.

I glanced at the entry to the training yard, but Oreius and Ardon were nowhere to be seen. The distance between myself and my unsuspecting victims was covered in puddles of rainwater and I couldn't help the slightly evil grin spreading across my face as I formulated my plan of attack. This was going to be fun.

I casually navigated around the puddles as I wandered closer to where Peter and Edmund were standing, and then I paused a couple feet away. There was a large puddle in between Peter and myself, and I gleefully leaped forward. A satisfyingly large splash of water soaked the eldest royal from mid-back down and the look of shock in his eyes made me want to laugh, but I settled for grinning unrepentantly. Edmund looked at me in shock and then he started laughing so hard he nearly fell over. Peter divided his glare between his younger brother and myself. "Katerina, have you lost your mind?"

I shrugged, "It's entirely possible."

Edmund actually managed to laugh harder and Peter turned to him with a mischievous glint in his eye, "Oh, so you think this funny, do you, Ed? Here, let's see how you like it!" Peter leaped into the puddle and managed splash Edmund in the face, who immediately stopped laughing and chased after his brother with a yell. I dashed away from them with a barely suppressed laugh and a huge grin. We started leaping from puddle to puddle in an attempt to splash each other. Half the time, I managed to splash both brothers so I had to be quick in order to avoid most of the splashing directed at me.

By the time we realized we were being watched, Peter was completely soaked and Edmund nearly was while I only suffered some splashes to my boots and trousers. Peter and Edmund were on the opposite side of the courtyard from me as I had just run away from their latest attempt to splash me and they saw our watchers first and instantly stopped their play. I turned around to see Oreius and Ardon were looking on the scene with a mix of amusement and what I guessed was concern for our sanity, well the Kings' sanity anyway as they already figured I was mostly insane. Oreius looked at me and raised an eyebrow, I responded with an unrepentant grin. "Lighten up, Kentauri." Then, I did what was one of the craziest things I had done during my stay in Narnia: I jumped forward and splashed General Oreius.

I'm still not sure who was most shocked at that instant, me and Oreius or the three people who just witnessed my moment of extreme insanity. Nevertheless, the shock of what I did was nothing compared to the shock that accompanied Oreius' reaction. He gave me a look and I decided it would be good if I ran for it. I managed to get halfway across the courtyard before he caught up with me. He slid to a stop in front of me and I held up my hands, "Now, Oreius-" I forgot what I was going to say as Oreius suddenly leaped into the puddle between us and caused a huge wave of water to crash over me. I stood there a bit stunned that he had actually returned the favor and brushed away the hair that plastered itself to my face. "Wow, that's a tad chilly."

Oreius chuckled then he spun me around and pushed me toward the armory, "All three of you are dismissed. Now, go clean yourselves up, especially you Katerina Alambiel, before Ardon tells his wife what I did and I get fussed at by Alithia. She still hasn't forgiven me for the mishap with your shield."

I was soaked to the bone and more than a little cold as I left the training yard, but I still hold it was more than worth it. Starting that day, I worked to be a true friend to the royal family and to a few other Narnians, including Oreius whose tolerance level for my moments of insanity was quite high. That high tolerance proved to be a good thing, especially since as I relaxed my guard I developed a tendency to land in several interesting situations, though the pranks were not always my fault.

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**A/N: Please Read and Review! Okay, a nice short chapter, but hopefully y'all enjoyed it. I only have about four or five planned chapters left for ****_Shields_****...unless something changes. The next chapters will address the "interesting situations" Kat managed to land in...among other things. Would anyone be interested in reading a chapter from Oreius' POV set in this time gap or a different time frame as suggested by y'all? Click the little review button below and let me know what y'all think.**


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.

Summary: Not all shields look as we expected... Not all shields are physical...

A/N: To avoid confusion, y'all should know that the first part of this chapter is from Katerina's POV, but the second part is from Oreius' POV. Enjoy!

Chapter Six

5 Yule 1001

Even before I came to Narnia, I had received training in both armed and unarmed close combat. I was thankful for this because for one thing it had allowed me to survive the first twenty days in Narnia a lot better than if I had absolutely no survival training whatsoever. However, there was one force in Narnia that all my training was absolutely useless against, although I console myself with the knowledge that I can last longer against it than just about anyone else in Narnia.

It was Seventhday, so I had actually been able to sleep until half-five that morning. Oreius had gotten his true revenge for splashing him last week by moving the start time of my training up to fourth hour every morning and he only moved the start time so I was training at least an hour before the Kings ever showed up in the training yard. This meant I had been training from three to six hours every morning for the past four days and I had just been informed via Ardon (I guess Oreius knew I would have thrown something hard and possibly pointy at him if he had told me himself) that this routine would not be changed for at least another week. Oreius could be such a grouch, worse he was a vindictive grouch with very creative but also cruel and unusual methods of punishment.

Anyway, it was just before teatime when Lucy found me kind of sprawled on the rug in front of the fireplace in my parlor. She looked at me with some concern until I gave a half-hearted little wave, "Don't mind me, Lucy, I just found out that Oreius is keeping me in his enhanced version of torture thinly disguised as training for a little while longer."

She tilted her head at me, trying to decide if I was joking or not (I wasn't), then she smiled slightly (she thought I was) and said, "Peter and Edmund told me you're really, really good in training. And, then I heard General Oreius, Captain Ardon, and Captain Cletus talking about you last Fifthday and they all agreed that you are probably one of the best knife fighters they've seen. Of course, then General Oreius said it would be even more impressive if you would stop leaving your Aslan-given common sense in the armory when you come to training."

Three things stood out to me during Lucy's recitation. One, she wanted something from me and I had an inkling I knew what it was. Two, just because I lost my footing after jumping over both his swords and couldn't stop myself before I crashed against a weapons rack (thank God it was just lances and some staffs) did not mean that I left my God-given common sense in the armory...that particular morning I left it in my bedroom. Three, Oreius was still being a grouch.

I closed my eyes with a little sigh before I asked, "What is it you really came to see me about, Lucy?"

I was exhausted and Lucy was quiet for so long that I nearly dozed off, but I snapped wide awake when she finally told me what she wanted. "Well, I was wondering...if... you could teach me how to fight with my dagger?"

I was not going to agree to that request, oh no, no, no, no. I opened my eyes to tell her no and I was confronted with a big pair of puppy dog eyes looking down at me and silently pleading for me to agree. I paused for a moment as I tried to resist the eyes, which was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I mean, this wasn't the first time a child had given me the puppy dog eyes treatment and I had resisted it in the past. But, then Lucy clasped her hands under her chin and said, "Oh, please, Kat, pretty please." Now, that wasn't fair.

I sighed and nodded as I slowly heaved myself into a sitting position. "All right, Lucy, I'll teach you how to defend yourself with your dagger. But, it will have to be later in the day because my mornings are full until I'm informed otherwise. And, it will need to be in a quiet space because I don't want you to be distracted and I don't want me to be skewered because a paranoid guard assumed I was attacking you."

Lucy squealed in delight and threw her arms around my neck before she scrambled back to her feet. "Oh, thank you, Kat! I know the perfect place! I'll show it to you tomorrow. Oh, might we start tomorrow afternoon, please?"

I was such a pushover. I gave a wordless nod and she squealed again (my eardrums would never be the same) before skipping out of the room. I lowered myself carefully to the floor again and just thanked God that she hadn't asked me to go exploring that afternoon or to join her for tea. If I was too exhausted to read, I was too sore to try moving again for the rest of the day. I was also so tired that I forgot to ask Lucy one very important question, and it remained forgotten for just over two weeks.

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22 Yule 1001

"You know for such a little thing, she certainly manages to land in rather large messes."

I smirked as I looked over at where Ardon was watching Katerina Alambiel help Queen Lucy toss snowballs at the Kings as they raced around one of the hills just outside of Cair Paravel's gates. As Queen Susan had once again busied herself with planning the Christmas festivities, the Kings took their younger sister away from the chaotic bustling of the Cair to play in the snow as I had dismissed them and Katerina Alambiel from training early. I was fairly certain this wasn't the exact type of activity Katerina had expected to participate in this morn but once the snowballs started flying she had been pulled in to even things up. "She has been landing in such messes since she arrived in Narnia, Ardon. I doubt that will change. And, you think anyone smaller than an adult Centaur is a little thing."

Ardon shrugged, after all, I was right and he knew it. A moment later, he was hit in the shoulder with a stray snowball. I looked to see Katerina Alambiel was standing on the crown of the hill next to King Edmund, so she actually had not thrown it...although, I suspect that if she was to throw a snowball at one of us, it would be at me and not Ardon. I smirked at Ardon and he glowered back at me.

It seemed the snowball fight had ended, but I couldn't tell from there who had won. However, Queen Lucy would be happy to tell me later when we headed back to the Cair. Katerina Alambiel was still standing at the top of the hill with King Edmund, but they had moved around some as Queen Lucy and King Peter joined them. They appeared to be discussing something, but I was confident they couldn't find any trouble on the hill and surrounded by various guards including Ardon and myself. I spotted Sir Rupert making his way towards us and I started to step away from Ardon, but then the wind shifted and I could clearly hear Katerina Alambiel ask something I hoped I heard wrong. "Edmund, do you know what two words can be derived from 'shield'?"

I froze as after a brief pause, during which the three sane Humans must have answered in the negative, she continued in a rather calculating tone. "Hi sled." She was going to kill me before Christmas.

I looked over my shoulder at Ardon in the vain hope that I had not just heard Cair Paravel's newest resident say what I thought she said, but he just shook his head in stunned disbelief. I glanced up at the clear sky and prayed for patience as I turned to see just what the insane woman known as Katerina Alambiel had decided to do now. I watched in disbelief as Katerina came sliding down the hill sitting in an overturned round shield while she held Queen Lucy securely in front of her. Their improvised sled picked up more and more speed until I realized at about the same time as Katerina and the Kings, who were still watching from the top of the hill, that she was not going to be able to stop them before they reached some of the other guards who were directly in their path.

I called out for the guards to clear the way, but the thick layer of snow slowed their movements just enough that someone was going to end up colliding with the two Daughters of Eve. Just before they reached the guards, Katerina Alambiel grabbed Queen Lucy and tossed her into a large snowdrift. Queen Lucy had already gotten to her feet by the time the last guard cleared the path and for a moment it looked like Katerina would also jump clear of the improvised sled, but then I saw a flash of red as Sir Rupert leapt up only to practically land in Katerina's arms, forcing her to stay seated.

The shield didn't stop until it slammed into the base of a birch tree, thank Aslan it wasn't one of the Trees because that would have created an even larger mess. The momentum of the shield was great enough that all I and everyone else could do was watch in dismay as Katerina was slung forward. I saw her head connect with the tree trunk, but then all the snow covering the branches fell and completely buried the shield, the Fox, and the insane Daughter of Eve who had managed to cause the entire mishap. Ardon and I galloped through the snow as we joined the other guards and Queen Lucy in rushing to provide whatever aid was needed.

As we approached the tree, I was relieved to see a gloved hand poke its way out of the mound of snow at the tree's base. The hand disappeared again only to be replaced by a rather disheveled Fox, who wriggled out and shook himself to rid his fur of the excess snow before he moved out from under everyone's feet to sit beside the Kings and Queen. Katerina reached up and made the hole Rupert had wriggled through large enough for herself. I ordered the guards to return to their posts and then I nodded to Ardon. We reached forward and pulled Katerina the rest of the way out of her snowy prison.

I folded my arms and glared down at her. She looked up at me and I suddenly had to fight the urge to laugh as I took in the snow that clung to her hair and her eyelashes, which, combined with her reddened cheeks, ultimately served to make her look almost adorable...not that I would tell her that. Ardon choked back a laugh and I raised an eyebrow at her as I carefully resisted the urge to laugh at the snowy glare being leveled at Ardon. "And, what do you have to say for yourself this time, Katerina Alambiel?"

She stopped glaring at Ardon, who was still trying to regain his composure, and she looked at me in silence for a few minutes then she shrugged. "Well, the stopping bit could have gone better."

I couldn't help smirking at her, then I shook my head and waved for her to rejoin the Kings and Queen who had moved off a little ways while they waited for Ardon and I to finish speaking with Katerina Alambiel. When I asked her for the boon of lowering her self-made barricades, I had not realized that such actions would be accompanied by this tendency to end up in somewhat insane situations that most others would manage to avoid. Sir Rupert came to sit by my feet as we watched the Royals swarm around Katerina Alambiel, after a moment he quietly commented, "She's been going down to the furthest solarium in the lower level of the south-eastern wing every afternoon save on Seventhdays. No one else enters or leaves the solarium save her." He paused and glanced up at me, "I hope this information is useful, General."

I nodded and he slipped away, though I thought it was due more to his desire to avoid being buried in the snow again than anything pressing he needed to attend to in the Cair. Ardon glanced at me, but I didn't tell him what it was about for I had already resolved to handle the matter personally. The four Humans had apparently decided to head back into the Cair as it was about noon and Queen Susan would fret if they did not return in time to share the midday meal. They had nearly reached where Ardon and I were standing when King Peter decided to tease Katerina Alambiel. "So, are you going to find a way to unintentionally disrupt afternoon tea as well, Kitty?"

Katerina had been listening with a half-smile until the moment King Peter called her 'Kitty' then I watched in surprise as clear fury flashed through her eyes before she tackled the High King who crashed into his brother before all three of them landed in the snow. I quickly schooled my features to hide my surprise as Katerina Alambiel maneuvered herself so that she had pinned both Kings in the snow beneath her. I moved forward with Ardon beside me, but Katerina ignored us as she suddenly smiled at the brothers who were now watching her warily. Her voice was completely calm as she spoke, in fact, if I had not seen that brief flash of fury right before she moved, I would have thought she was playing a game of some sort with them. "I will tolerate a great many names; however, I will not tolerate being called 'Kitty' not even by your majesties. Consider this fair warning because if you ever call me that again, I will hang the both of you by your ankles. Clear?"

The Kings exchanged a look and then they responded in unison, "Crystal."

Katerina smiled and gave them each a light pat on the cheek before she stood and started walking towards the Cair. Queen Lucy giggled at her brothers, "Well, now you know what not to call her." King Peter shrugged before he stood up and pulled his brother to his feet. All three of them hurried to catch up with Katerina Alambiel. As we followed in their wake, Ardon glanced at me in a silent query and I answered with a slight shrug. I honestly did not know why she reacted that way to being called 'Kitty' by the Kings, but I supposed she would explain in time.

Later that afternoon, I was once again mulling over why Katerina Alambiel would do some of the things she did. However, this time it was because I was trying to determine why she had been visiting the one solarium in the main palace of Cair Paravel that no one used. She was normally holed up in her chambers or in the library when not in Queen Lucy's company, but for just over a fortnight, she had been sneaking away to visit this solarium. I had asked Sir Rupert to find out where she was going because I wanted to make sure she hadn't found herself more trouble, but as I watched the door she had disappeared into nearly twenty minutes ago, I had to admit I was curious to see what new manner of mischief she had uncovered. I had discovered that once I got over the initial shock or anger, her actions usually had rather humorous results.

I thought I heard the low murmur of voices coming from the room and then there was the distinctive clash of steel against steel. I resisted the urge to burst into the room with swords drawn; instead, I quietly made my way to the door. I reached it and realized the only reason I had been able to hear anything was because the door had failed to close all the way when Katerina entered the solarium. I carefully pushed the door open, and, resting a hand on the pommel of my one-handed sword, I entered the solarium. I took a step forward then looked at the floor in surprise to see I was standing on a rug, thus completely muffling the sound of my hooves.

I held my swords still as I walked further into the solarium, the floor of which had been covered by various rugs from wall to wall, until I stopped in the shadows as I was greeted by the one sight that I hadn't expected, but honestly, I shouldn't have been the least surprised. Katerina Alambiel stood near the center of the room facing Queen Lucy, who was dressed in what appeared to be some of King Edmund's clothes. Queen Lucy was holding her dagger in a defensive position while Katerina slowly walked towards her with one of her knives drawn. I knew without a doubt that Katerina Alambiel would die before she allowed any harm to come to Queen Lucy, especially by her own hand, so I watched in silence as the lesson I had walked in on continued.

I learned a great deal about Katerina Alambiel that afternoon as she taught the youngest Queen how to defend herself against attackers. She was a kind teacher and a patient one; in fact, she was far more patient than many instructors I had seen. As she gently corrected Lucy's grip or showed her thrice over how to block an attack in a way that would allow her to wound her attacker and then dash out of arm's reach, my respect for her grew even more. She also readily used her sense of humor and somewhat odd way of looking at the world to keep Queen Lucy from growing too frustrated when a particular move proved difficult to learn. I nearly gave myself away several times when she mimicked the body language of various creatures and warriors, none more so than towards the end of the lesson.

Katerina Alambiel suddenly crouched and started to approach Lucy with swinging sideways steps while maintaining the crouched position. Queen Lucy tilted her head as she asked, "What are you doing, Kat?"

Katerina paused a second as she met Lucy's gaze, "I'm imitating the spindly pale thing...what is it called? Oh, Ghoul."

Lucy asked what I was thinking, "But, why?"

Katerina straightened and patted her stomach as she cheerfully replied, "Because I don't have the belly to play a Boggle." I was grateful that Queen Lucy giggled at that because it covered up the slight sound of me choking back my own laughter.

Katerina Alambiel smiled at Lucy and she gestured for her to put away the dagger. I was about to make my presence known when Queen Lucy asked, "Why won't you teach me how to actually attack someone, Kat?"

I stayed where I was, unwilling to intrude on this last lesson. Katerina looked at the knife in her hand a moment before she slipped it into the sheath under her tunic. "Because I pray every day that you will never have to use these lessons in order to attack an enemy, or if it should happen that it will be far in the future. Part of the reason I agreed to teach you how to defend yourself is because I believe it is better for you to have the knowledge and be prepared and never have to use it than to one day need the knowledge and not have it. Every defensive move I've shown you can easily be turned into an attack, so if the worst should happen and for some reason you are attacked and no one is there to protect you, you know how to fight back. Of course, if your brothers, Oreius, the entire army, not to mention myself have anything to say about it, that scenario will never happen."

"You know, no one except you will teach me beyond the basics with knife fighting; they just want me to focus on archery."

Well, that was true but only until she grew a little older. I listened carefully for Katerina's response. She gave the young queen a slight smile as she answered, "That is because you are only nine years old, Lucy. Even though you are queen, we cannot help but see the child as well. And, nine or ten is far too young an age to begin killing because when you kill it is the death toll for the innocence of childhood. Lucy, you have yet to kill, wound yes, but not kill and you are so sweet and kind and innocent that I and everyone else just desire to help you stay that way for as long as possible. We wish to protect you, for you remind us of the childhood innocence we left behind long ago, will you not grant us this favor for at least a few years longer?"

Katerina Alambiel could very eloquent when she wanted to, and I was not the least surprised that Queen Lucy quickly gave her agreement. Katerina suddenly groaned, "Lucy, I just realized that I forgot to inform anyone of what I've been teaching you, especially Peter and...Oreius. And, I think you forgot as well, so tonight you will inform Peter of these lessons and he had best tell me that we've his express permission to continue with them, agreed? Good, now off with you. I have my own explanations to give..." I watched as Queen Lucy ran to the far wall and opened the secret passage that I knew would let her out two halls away from the wing of Cair Paravel where the royal family's quarters were located, which explained why no one had seen anyone other than Katerina entering or leaving the solarium.

Katerina didn't turn around as she spoke again, "So, Kentauri, how much trouble did I just land in this time?"

I smirked at the question and at this new name she had given me just over three weeks ago, "I don't know yet. I suppose we shall have to see how the High King reacts to the news that you have been giving his youngest sister secret lessons before I decide."

She finally turned as I came up beside her. Looking down at her, I gentled my tone before asking, "How do you feel about the fact that a colt who was not yet ten years of age had to draw first blood after being held prisoner by a witch?"

I could see a flash of sorrow and empathy in her eyes before she quietly answered, "Nine, or ten, was still far too young as is eleven, but circumstances meant it could not be avoided merely mourned privately by those of us who see and recognize the loss." She gave me a knowing look as she added, "But, then you know all about that, don't you, Kentauri? We will trust them, we will follow them, we will protect them, and we will mourn for them when they cannot mourn for themselves." I was struck silent by the echo of personal experience hidden in her words and in the tone of her voice, and I once again found myself wondering what she had gone through that she understood so much. I silently inclined my head in acknowledgement of her words even as I reminded myself that I had given her my word that I would not push her about her past, instead I would wait until she was ready to lower those defenses and let others like myself help her shield herself and share the burden.

I escorted her out of the solarium in silence for several minutes, and then I couldn't help my curiosity on one thing. "Katerina Alambiel, is there a particular reason that you do not like being called 'Kitty'?"

"Yes."

I waited several more minutes in silence then I looked down at where she was walking by my side, "You are not going to tell me, are you, Katerina Alambiel?"

Her smile reached her eyes as she glanced up at me, "Well, not today, Kentauri."

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**A/N: Please Read and Review! Okay, so we have a couple of the 'interesting incidents' featured in this chapter, a reaction that had been requested by Lady Firewing, and a combo POV. Did you like getting inside Oreius' head? Do you want more? Next chapter will cover Christmas in Cair Paravel...sort of. Click the little review button below and tell me what y'all think.**


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.

Summary: Not all shields look as we expected... Not all shields are physical...

Chapter Seven

23 Yule 1001

There are few things worse than waking up right before a long-anticipated event and realizing that you're sick. Being sick right before Christmas...ugh, it just figured that I would be sick for my first Christmas in Narnia. Why? Because Murphy hated me, end of story. And, it wasn't a simple cold or a stomach bug. Nor, could it be blamed on Oreius' evil training schedule (believe me, he's an evil genius when it comes to devising punishment disguised as training...I would know) because he had returned the start time of my training to fifth hour this past week and he's been releasing the Kings and myself from training early all week. No, this particular illness was much worse than exhaustion from training or a cold or a stomach bug. I rarely get sick, which is a good thing, because when I do it's horrible. I mean, I can go two years without suffering so much as a sniffle (unless I was caught in an icy deluge from a backfiring prank) and then out of nowhere I'll be laid flat by what's best described as a non-contagious flu for about a week (unless I did something that agitated my health and caused a relapse).

That morning I knew as soon as I opened my eyes that my tentative hopes for experiencing my first normal Christmas in years had been dashed. But, then I talked myself into ignoring how hot I felt, the pounding in my head and behind my eyes, and how much my hands were shaking as I forced myself to get out of bed. As soon as I stood, the entire room swam and I had to cling to one of the bed posts to keep from falling flat on my face, but being the determined (Oreius and Alithia have since informed me that I was just being stubborn to the point of stupidity) individual, I staggered my way to the door. I opened it and managed to make my way to lean against the back of my settee as I stared at the water clock, which informed me that I had already missed training by over two hours. Well, I preferred to face the wrath of Oreius for missing training than to face the combined wrath of Alithia and Oreius because I staggered my way to the training yard and then promptly keeled over...I could just imagine how well that would go over with them.

I decided I should just crawl back into bed and wait for the worst to pass me by before I even thought about trying to leave my chambers. As it was, I wasn't completely sure how much longer I could last on my feet. I managed to make it back to my bedroom with no incidents of note and I was even able to freshen up in the bathroom before Murphy decided to play with me again. I stumbled my way to the bathroom door and had just set foot in my bedroom when the entire room did a flip-flop and I sent a vase shattering against the floor, while I tumbled backward into the bathroom until I came to a stop against the tub (with the obligatory hit to the back of the head).

I closed my eyes as I waited for the pounding in my head to lessen just a smidge before I tried moving again. I must have started to doze off because the next thing I knew there was someone shaking my shoulder and saying my name...loudly and repeatedly. I cracked my eyes open and had to blink because I was greeted with a sight of two very concerned-looking Oreius...I knew that couldn't be right. Fortunately for my sanity, after I closed my eyes and opened them again all I saw was one very concerned-looking Oreius, especially since I felt one Kentauri was more than enough. Oreius was leaning over me and still watching me warily (kind of like he thought I was going to break into a million pieces at any moment) when he snapped an order, "Rupert, find Alithia and be quick about it."

Oreius reached out and checked the back of my head, stilling his fingers instantly when I hissed in pain as he grazed over the lump. After establishing there was a lump and it actually wasn't bleeding (even though it hurt like all get out), I think I turned green because an instant later Oreius had shoved a large bowl into my hands and then held my hair out of the way as I surrendered to the sudden wave of nausea that swept over me. That was the second time I had been sick in his presence…the little dignity I had managed to keep after the first time promptly fled. I gasped out a pathetic-sounding apology and he just shook his head as he removed the bowl. I should have just stayed in bed. "Yes, you should have, Katerina Alambiel." Oreius paused to consider me before continuing, "You look horrible."

I was sure I did, considering that I had a large purple bruise on my left temple from crashing into the tree the day before and if I looked anywhere near as bad as I felt, but still there are some things you just shouldn't say to a woman. I packed as much sarcasm into my voice as possible as I responded, "Oh, thank you."

Of course, sarcasm didn't do me much good as Oreius just ignored it. Spoilsport. Instead, he looked impatiently over his shoulder for the still-absent Alithia before turning back to me. "Can you walk back to the bed?"

I nodded and used the tub to lever myself up. I got to my feet, but only for a moment before the entire room swam and then flip-flopped, which was followed by my legs giving out. Oreius managed to catch me before I hit the floor, but we both knew I wasn't going to be able to move an inch under my own power much less make it to the bed. What a way to spend the morning before Christmas Eve, sick as a dog and weak as a newborn kitten (there's a joke in there somewhere, I know it). Oreius easily scooped me up and carried me to my bed, once he had me settled, he pulled the sheets up to my waist and then he brushed some of the hair escaping from my braid out of my face. I felt so terrible that I barely registered the fact that he froze when his fingers grazed my skin, but I did hear a faint inquiry that I assumed was from Alithia and his low reply, "She's burning up."

After that, everything became a blur and I'm not certain of all my memories. However, I did remember the flashes of worried faces when I occasionally managed to open my eyes, the low voices coaxing me to wake and accept a cool drink if only for a moment, and the touch of two pairs of small, soft hands and one pair of large, callused hands as they laid cool cloths on my hot skin. I remembered that my dreams were dark with the fears of my past and hearing one voice promising that he was there and I wasn't alone until finally my dreams lightened before disappearing all together. I remembered that even in the midst of my feverish existence and terrifying nightmares, I knew I could trust the owner of the voice. He was my friend and I could trust him to shield me while I was vulnerable. Then, I woke up and wondered if those memories were really just the products of my fevered dreams.

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**A/N: Please Read and Review! Yes, I know this is a very short chapter, but it was the right place to end it. Poor Katerina couldn't even get through Christmas without something happening. I'm sure everyone can relate to this particular dilemma too. So, the next chapter will be a direct continuation of this one and will be posted after I decide whether or not it should be from Oreius or Katerina's POV. Any requests? Click the little review button below and let me know what y'all think.**


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.

Summary: Not all shields look as we expected... Not all shields are physical...

A/N: As requested by Lady Firewing, anonymous reviewer "Hey", and dreaminsapphire, the first part of this chapter is in Oreius' POV while Kat is sick, and the last two sections are both in Katerina's POV. I hope it lives up to your expectations!

Chapter Eight

There are few things in this life that truly frighten me anymore, mainly the situations my Kings find themselves in as they are quite talented at finding danger even in the most mundane activities. However, I could not deny that I felt more than a little concerned when Rupert told me he could hear something break as we walked down the hall where Katerina Alambiel's chambers were located and he thought it had come from within her rooms. There were still more than a few soldiers who resented her presence as her altercation with the Satyr Laurus a little over three weeks ago had reminded me and there was always the possibility that one of them had allowed their prejudices and fears to overrule their good sense and attacked Katerina Alambiel. I almost wished that had been the case, because at least I could protect her from physical attackers.

When I felt how hot her skin was, I was shocked because she had been fine when I spoke with her the afternoon before. Alithia finally arrived as I looked down at Katerina who had closed her eyes again, "Oreius, why did Rupert...what is it? What's wrong?"

I kept my voice low as I replied, "She's burning up." I was not a healer, but I knew that it was not a good sign for a Human to feel so hot especially compared to a Centaur. Alithia jostled me out of the way to feel Katerina's forehead even as she pressed me for every possible detail. I told her what I knew while studying both Katerina and Alithia's faces for some indication of what had happened, and I didn't like the worry I could see in Alithia's eyes. I scowled as I watched Alithia try to coax Katerina into opening her eyes without success for several moments. I couldn't hold back my impatience any longer and pushed for some answers, though I took care to keep my voice low. "Alithia, what is wrong with her? Was she poisoned?"

Alithia glanced at me before she went back to checking Katerina's face and neck for...something. "To be honest, I don't know what's wrong yet. However, I doubt this is the result of a poison. The symptoms do not match, although the speed with which this struck her is worrisome. There were no signs of this coming on yesterday..."

Alithia trailed off as she checked Katerina's head and brushed against the lump she had sustained from her fall. Alithia barely touched it, but it caused Katerina Alambiel to give a pained moan. I barely curbed the sudden impulse to make Alithia stop her examination before she caused any more pain, but I knew she needed to do this if she was to determine how best to help Katerina. I freely acknowledged that I was overprotective when it came to those I had decided needed my protection such as the Kings and Queens, but sometimes I still managed to surprise myself with the extent of my protectiveness...such as with Katerina Alambiel. Alithia was being unusually quiet as she would typically be speaking, or scolding, as she examined her patient, but just as I was about to press her for answers again, she briskly ordered me to leave so she could finish examining Katerina Alambiel. I frowned but retreated from the bedroom after I made it clear to Alithia that I would remain in the parlor until she was able to tell me what was wrong with Katerina Alambiel.

I stood in front of the window and watched the snow falling steadily outside with only the occasional glance at the water clock on the mantel as I waited for information. I could hear the occasional burst of voices as various residents strolled down the hall outside as they continued tending to the finishing touches of preparing the Cair for the Christmas festivities. The spirits of everyone in Cair Paravel were even higher than last year as we did not have the unspoken question of whether Christmas would truly happen and would winter turn to spring at the appropriate time lingering in the back of our minds.

I turned from the window when I heard Alithia open the bedroom door, but I didn't say anything as she stepped into the parlor then gently pulled the door close before she finally spoke. "I don't know for sure what it is, Oreius. However, I believe it is similar to the pneumonia the High King suffered from last year. She has a very high fever and she is only semi-aware of her surroundings at the moment. I managed to keep her awake and focused long enough that she confirmed that she wasn't attacked or poisoned, though I doubt she will remember the conversation."

"Does she need the cordial?"

Alithia shook her head, "No, I believe if we can keep her fever down and keep her hydrated, she will be able to recover from this on her own. However, I do not think it would be wise for her to have many visitors while she is this ill, especially since I do not know if it could spread. Perhaps we should consider that the fewer who know the exact nature of her illness, the better."

I chose not to point out that even Alithia didn't know the exact nature of Katerina's illness, after all it was better for the army and myself to keep Narnia's foremost healer in an appeased state on principle. "You're right. Any idea as to how long this illness will last or how much worse it will become before she starts to recover?"

Alithia couldn't quite hide her frustration at the situation as she answered, "I have no idea. It could be anywhere from a day or two to a week or even longer. As far as how much worse she will become, we shall have to wait and see. I believe I will have a better idea as to the intensity and length of this illness by tonight. Will you inform the Royals of the situation?"

I nodded and headed for the doors as there was currently nothing more I could do by staying. I would explain the situation to the High King and Gentle Queen and leave it to them to break the news to the younger Royals, especially Queen Lucy. Just before I left, Alithia made a request. "Oreius, if you should see Tuulea, might you inform her that I would be glad of any assistance she could render?"

I didn't hesitate before agreeing and I decided to find Tuulea first. Though she currently chose to serve their majesties as the head seamstress of Cair Paravel, the Black Elder Nymph was very wise and she had often served in the role of healer in the past. I had been more than pleased to hear that she and her husband, Stonebrook, had accepted the invitation extended by the Kings and Queens to come to Cair Paravel. Stonebrook was one of the wisest elders of my tribe and Tuulea more than matched him, though their sons had informed me that Tuulea wanted to come to the Cair just so she could mother anyone of the younger generation she could...apparently she was tired of waiting for grandchildren. Fortunately, Katerina Alambiel was included among the Cair's inhabitants who had been taken under Tuulea's wing, so I knew as soon as I explained to Tuulea what was going on, she would immediately help.

I was right, and it only took the mention that it was Katerina Alambiel who was ill for Tuulea to sweep down the halls towards Katerina's chambers. Stonebrook shrugged in the aftermath of his wife's whirlwind departure from the library and commented that Tuulea was rather fond of Katerina Alambiel before he went back to his own work. It was well that I had looked for Tuulea first as it took me much longer to find and then gain a private word with the High King and the Gentle Queen, especially since Queen Susan had been supervising the decorating of the Great Hall. In the end, High King Peter had been forced to send a message via a Hummingbird in order to locate his sister among the crowd.

It was past noon by the time I had finished explaining to the eldest Royals in the privacy of the High King's study what had happened. Queen Susan looked at me with wide eyes and her concern was readily apparent in her voice as she asked, "Are you quite certain that she does not need Lucy's cordial?"

"It is Alithia's belief that she can recover without it, though it will take some time."

Queen Susan nodded silently as she allowed Peter to speak, "Oreius, we will take care of letting Lucy know and of keeping her from disturbing Katerina before Alithia believes it wise. However, please make sure Alithia is aware that we would like to know if there is any change with our Katerina's health."

I gave my word to do so then bowed before leaving the study. I did not envy them the task of not only informing Queen Lucy that her friend was ill but also keeping her from her side for an unknown amount of time. After all, the youngest Royal had formed a very strong attachment to Katerina Alambiel that continued to grow even stronger every time the two interacted with each other. No, I did not envy them that task at all.

I spent the rest of the day tending to my duties, but concern over Katerina's sudden illness was a constant presence in the back of my mind. As soon as I could, I made my way back to her chambers with the faint hope of finding her much recovered from that morning. However, I knew that was not the case as soon as I saw Alithia conferring with Tuulea just outside the bedroom door, which they had pulled to until it was nearly shut. Tuulea had placed a comforting hand on Alithia's wrist then she waved for me to come closer. I noted that Alithia looked frustrated in addition to being worried, and Tuulea confirmed my growing suspicion. "Ah, Oreius, I suppose you are here to learn how things go? Of course, you are. Now, as far as we can tell this is not the result of foul play nor is it the result of that little bout of increased training you put her through earlier this month, so you just put that thought out of your head right this instant. She opened her eyes a few times this afternoon, but the poor dear was so miserable that I doubt she'll remember a thing. The biggest concern is that her fever has risen and we don't dare leave her alone for more than a few minutes at a time. In fact, it is about time to change out the cloths. Alithia?"

Tuulea barely paused for breath throughout her entire speech, much less for anyone to answer her, before she began speaking again. "You wish to help, Oreius? Of course, you do. Now, there are several ways you could help...hmm, give me a moment to think of what they are."

I glanced at where Alithia was leaning over Katerina Alambiel, and even from where I stood outside the doorway, I could tell that Katerina's color was off. I knew immediately how I wanted to help and I looked down to find that Tuulea was watching me closely. She didn't say anything and I spoke in a low, firm tone. "I will take the night watch."

She nodded slowly, though I wasn't entirely certain that it was solely in response to my statement. "That seems like a wise choice. Alithia and I will take care of her in the day, and I shall make sure that anyone who inquires too closely after the night arrangements knows that she is well guarded. Now, you will find plenty of cloths on this table here and be sure that the water is cool not freezing. Keep them on her forehead and the side of her neck. Her fever will probably rise even higher over the next day or two, so expect to be changing out the cloths frequently. Oh, and try to see if you can wake her enough that she'll drink some water. It doesn't matter if it's only a sip or two, just make sure she drinks something. If you suspect she has taken a turn for the worse, you send for me, understand? Good."

Tuulea didn't even wait for me to say a word before she shooed Alithia out of the room, I could hear Tuulea telling her that we would be fine and that she needed to see to her own family. Then, the doors shut behind them and I was left standing in front of Katerina's bedroom. Stepping into the room, I was shocked at how bad she looked even compared to that morning. She was so pale that the sweat-darkened strands of hair clinging to her face and neck looked black by comparison. I stayed by Katerina's side all night, in fact the only times I moved away was to change out the water for the cloths. Alithia had mentioned that she might recover within a few days, but I highly doubted that would be the case as her fever started climbing again during the hours after midnight.

Alithia relieved me at sixth hour and I forced myself to participate in the festivities for Christmas Eve, though I was too concerned for Katerina Alambiel to truly enjoy myself. I made an appearance at the Christmas Eve feast, but I only stayed long enough to make sure my absence would not cause comment. As soon as I could manage it, I slipped away and went back to my self-appointed post. Tuulea looked up as I entered the room and nodded, but I stopped her before she left. "Is she supposed to look so pale, Tuulea? I've seen mortally wounded soldiers who had more color in their skin than she has right now."

Tuulea patted me on the forearm as she reassured me that as terrible as Katerina Alambiel looked at that moment, she actually wasn't dying. After Tuulea left, I looked down at Katerina's still form for a moment before I moved the table holding the current bowl of water being used to a place where it would be in easy arm's reach of my chosen watch post. It bothered me to see her so still, in the months since she came here, I had yet to see her be perfectly still save for when she was running through her tracking skills with Sherket and Sefu. But, this was different, she was too still and too pale for my liking...far too still and too pale...too fragile. For someone who wasn't dying, she could have been based on how bad she looked, to my eyes anyway.

It was an hour 'til midnight when my concerns for how still Katerina Alambiel had been were proven unfounded. I was about to try and wake her in an attempt to coax her into accepting some water when I heard her make a slight sound, almost like a half-formed sob. I leaned in closer to see if she had awoken on her own and she suddenly twisted away from my presence. I straightened in shock as she moved her head restlessly and her hands fluttered in exhausted half-attempts at blocking the attack of an unseen enemy. She was having a nightmare, a very bad one judging by her actions.

I set the cup of water back down and started talking to her in a low voice as I reached out and stilled her hands, which clenched into fists at my touch. "Katerina, Katerina Alambiel, shhh, it's just a nightmare. I'm here. You are not alone, I promise. It's just a nightmare, don't believe it. Shhh, I'm here and you are not alone. Katerina Alambiel, I promise you I'm here and I will stay for as long as you need me." As I continued to speak, I noticed that she slowly relaxed her hands and stopped moving so restlessly until finally the only sign of the nightmare was the lone tear that slid down her left cheek. I brushed the tear away but her skin was so hot I wouldn't have been surprised to find my hand had been burned from the contact. I kept talking to her as I soaked another set of cloths and placed them against her neck and on her forehead. After coaxing her into taking a small sip of water, I kept my hand over her limp ones in hopes that she would be able to sense that I hadn't broken my promise by leaving while I watched her slip back into a restless sleep.

I sensed his presence before I heard the scrape of boot against a section of the marble floor that wasn't covered by a rug and my hand automatically went to my side grasping for a sword that wasn't there. I wheeled to face the newcomer, nearly upsetting the table holding the bowl of water and dwindling supply of cloths as I moved to stand between Katerina's bed and the being in the parlor. He filled the doorway and raised his hands when he spotted me and I relaxed from my defensive stance as I recognized who stood before me. I bowed my head in respect, "Forgive me, I did not realize it was you at first."

He chuckled and waved away my apology as I moved to light some fresh candles while he took a close look at Katerina Alambiel. "Oreius, you are a warrior and a protector. I would be surprised if you didn't have such a reaction to anyone who intruded on your watch duties, even me. Now, let's see what we have here." I glanced over my shoulder to see him dig into his bag while he continued in a low, conversational tone that seemed to be directed both at me and at himself. "Unfortunately, it is not in my power to heal her illness. However, I do have something that will cheer her immensely once she wakes long enough to appreciate it, if I do say so myself. Now, where did I put that...ah, here it is. Yes, these will do quite nicely."

I moved closer as he lifted several sketchbooks and other artistic supplies out of his bag and deposited them in the chair on the other side of the table by her bed and then he added a pair of very fine leather vambraces to the pile. I smirked and he laughed before he picked his bag up, slung it over his shoulder, and then he disappeared back into the parlor which he left without ever opening the door. I glanced from the art supplies to Katerina Alambiel who was lying perfectly still again, and I wondered what exactly she drew. I had known that she sketched a rough outline of her knives for Baumur, but I never guessed that she would do more.

The rest of the night passed peacefully save for when another nightmare struck her at about fourth hour. The second one seemed worse as it took me much longer to calm her down and her fever definitely had risen again. I talked to her until I heard the doors open and I knew Alithia had come to relieve me. Alithia, Tuulea, and I settled into a routine where they took care of Katerina Alambiel until I relieved them for the night watch though Tuulea fussed at me a little for going too long without sleep myself. I might have missed some sleep, but I was still better off than Katerina Alambiel whose fever would level for up to an hour or two and then it would rise again. I continued to keep watch over her and provide reassurances when the nightmares struck her, which had worsened until she had reached a point where I suspected that if her throat had not been too hoarse, she would have been screaming. As it was, she would often murmur hoarsely when in the midst of the nightmares but I could never quite make out what she was saying. Finally, after supervising the Kings' training three days after Christmas, I heard from Tuulea that Katerina Alambiel's fever had broken at the ninth hour that morning and she was now on the road to recovery. She woke later that afternoon.

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When I first opened my eyes I felt like I had been run over by a herd of elephants and then flattened by a blue whale (sometimes I surprised myself with the mental pictures I came up with...this was one of them). I blinked the world into focus and spied Tuulea sitting in a chair by my bed as she worked on a sewing project of some sort. The Black Elder Nymph was one of the kindest women I had met and I was also a little relieved to see her instead of someone else because she would be the other sole being in Narnia privy to one of my darkest secrets if not the story behind it. She looked up and smiled at me through the inky black hair that had fallen over her face as she worked. I tried to smile back, but I couldn't quite manage it instead I gasped out my most pressing need, "Water...please."

Tuulea immediately poured me a glass and then held it to my lips so I could drink it. Thank God for water, thank God for Tuulea, thank God for Tuulea helping me with the water...did I mention I was extremely thirsty and therefore extremely thankful to have the thirst quenched? After helping me to the bathroom and back, Tuulea pressed a hand to my forehead then she ordered me to stay still while she fetched Alithia. Honestly, where was I going to go? I might have passed the sick as a dog stage, but I was still weak as a newborn kitten as witnessed by the fact that I was barely able to walk the short distance between the bed and the bathroom even with Tuulea's help. Thus, Tuulea's order was redundant.

Alithia hurried into the room and gave me a thorough examination before she asked, "How do you feel?"

There should be a law against asking these kinds of pointless questions. "Horrible." How else would I feel? I just suffered through a non-contagious version of the flu, what did she expect me to say? That I was fine and ready to start a new career as a circus entertainer? Although, I didn't think that example actually worked as I didn't think Narnia had a circus, so maybe it would have been a new career as court magician... Fortunately, I managed to keep these thoughts to myself, especially since Alithia probably would have taken them as confirmation I had gone completely insane...er.

Alithia nodded, "I'm not surprised, Katerina Alambiel, you've been unconscious with a high fever for the better part of five days. It will probably take a few more days before you fully recover. In the mean time, I want you to stay in bed and continue to rest, I don't want you to start moving around and cause a relapse. I'll be back to check on you in the morn and we shall see exactly how long you need to stay abed."

Tuulea stayed with me for a little bit after Alithia left and even though she told me I would have to wait at least another day before I could have a bath, she did unbraid, brush, and re-braid my hair. Tuulea reassured me that she and Alithia were the only ones who had seen to my personal needs, so no one else in Narnia knew about my secret. I was too exhausted to stay awake much longer and I was already drifting off as Tuulea informed me that someone would be in the parlor if I needed any help during the night, but I fell asleep before I heard the name of my nighttime guardian. The only thing I remembered from that night was the faint recollection of shivering from the cold and then murmuring my thanks in my half-asleep state as someone pulled the sheets up and tucked them around my shoulders.

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29 Yule 1001

The next afternoon to my relief, I was allowed to bathe and wash the crummy feeling of being sick off my skin. I even tolerated having to let Tuulea assist me, if it meant I could feel totally and completely clean again. Tuulea chattered softly and I felt myself relaxing as I listened to her voice while she scrubbed my hair with a shampoo that smelled like cinnamon and sandalwood (not my normal shampoo choice but Tuulea was quick to remind me that since I wasn't sneaking around there was no need for my scent to be subtle). But, then she said something that I was certain I had heard wrong until I asked her to repeat it. She happily obliged, "As I said, Child, Oreius kept watch over you during the nights while Alithia and I took care of you in the day. He was quite concerned by how he found you the morn you took ill and he made it very clear that he would be the one to take the night vigils. A few well-placed words from my lips to certain ears that General Oreius himself would be keeping watch over you at night resulted in any mischief that might have occurred dying before the owners of such thoughts could fully dream them up. The young one tends to have that effect on the ill-mannered lot, no matter who he decides to protect and shield from any type of harm."

I was too busy pondering the fact that the memories I had half-dismissed as the products of my feverish dreams were real to really notice what else Tuulea was saying as she helped me out of the tub and get dressed in a thick wool nightgown. I was momentarily distracted from my thoughts as I refused to let Tuulea do anything other than pull my hair back into a thick braid. I couldn't hide my smile as Tuulea grumbled over not being allowed to do something more interesting with my hair. Poor Tuulea, I truly was a challenge for her as I refused to allow more than the simplest of embroidery on my clothing, which so far I had succeeded in keeping to only practical tunics, trousers, and skirts (Tuulea, Susan, and Lucy were plotting how to get me into something less basic...I was winning through sheer stubbornness). Not to mention the fact that I also refused to do anything complicated with my hair. Nor, would I allow it to hang loose, the length made it impractical with my preferred daily activity and my own quirks had caused me to promise myself not to let anyone see me with my hair down if I could keep from it (hanging in a sleep braid doesn't count, no matter what Tuulea says).

After Tuulea got me settled in bed to her satisfaction (this included the fluffing of pillows, tucking and re-tucking of sheets, smoothing of hair, and a peck on the top of the head), I drifted off again as she chattered about the Kings and Queens. When I woke, Tuulea was gone and I couldn't hear anyone moving around in my parlor. I lay there staring at the canopy overhead for a while, then I carefully levered myself up on my elbows and tried to find something to preoccupy myself with before I died of boredom. Unfortunately, the book that had been on my bedside table had apparently been moved to an unknown location at an unknown time. I laid back down and closed my eyes in an attempt to fall asleep again, but that worked about as well as when I was ten and I tried to scale a seven-foot brick wall with a broken arm...in other words, not at all.

I gave up trying to sleep and frowned as I tried to determine where my book might have been moved to, and then I perked up as I remembered the desk in the parlor. The book would probably be there. I carefully sat up and pulled on a night robe (like any sane person sneaking from their sickbed) before I tried to stand. The room swam a tiny bit but then it stopped and I took several shaky steps towards the end of the bed, I braced myself against the bedpost as I listened for any movement on the other side of the door. Hearing nothing, I wobbled my way to the door and managed to get halfway to the desk before my legs buckled. I would have fallen flat on my face if someone hadn't grabbed me mid-fall, I tilted my head back to meet the gaze of my frowning rescuer who shook his head and grumbled as he scooped me up, "You just can't stay out of trouble when you're conscious, can you?"

I shrugged even as I decided Oreius was still being a bit of a grouch, and then I tried to avoid returning to the boring existence of the sickbed I had just escaped. "Wait, wait, don't make me go back in there yet. Let me stay out here for a little while, please, Oreius. I can rest on the settee just as easily as in bed. Please, Oreius."

Oreius paused and gave me a skeptical look. "You will not try to get up and move if I put you on the settee, Katerina Alambiel?"

"Yes, I promise. No moving from the settee." The moment he sighed I knew I had won (Lucy wasn't the only one who knew how to plead others into letting her do things).

Oreius put me down on the settee and moved around to stir the fire to life and light some more candles. He was facing away from me when he broke the silence, "What were you trying to do?"

"I wanted to see if the book I was reading had been moved to the desk."

He glanced at the desk as he finished lighting the candles and shook his head, "If you had asked, someone could have told you that Tuulea took all of the books you borrowed back to the library. And, why did you decide to do this?"

I gave a little shrug, "I was bored."

He rolled his eyes at me as he picked up a throw and pulled it over me, "Tell me something, Katerina Alambiel, how often have your mad ideas been preceded by or explained with the declaration that you were bored?"

I had to pause to think about that one (yes, I know that's usually a bad sign), then I looked up at him. "Well...there was that time I...hmm, no that one too...well, apparently all of my more inventive ideas have been directly connected with my state of boredom."

Oreius straightened then he asked me something I didn't expect. "What else do you do when you're bored?"

"Why?"

"Because I want to know, so I can plan ahead of time on how I can either distract or stop you from carrying out the most insane of the bunch."

I bit my lip then I decided it would be unfair to make him go completely blind into the situations I have a habit of landing in. "Well, let's see. I read, but you already know that, I draw, I concoct pranks, which is usually followed by the performance of said pranks...oh and I plan coups."

Oreius had picked up some pillows from the end of the settee when he raised an eyebrow at me, "Do you carry out the coups too?"

I tried to look innocent as I muttered, "Sometimes, but I have to be very bored to do it."

"And, is there any way I can keep said coups from happening that does not involve tossing you in the dungeons?"

I perked up as I thought of what would work and grinned at the Kentauri as I replied, "Oh yes, you could bribe me with a very good book or chocolate or a very good book that I haven't read before with something chocolate to go with it. What? I like books and I like chocolate and bribes involving said items will almost always persuade me to turn from my evil and devious ways of carrying out coups."

Oreius looked at me than shook his head, "You worry me."

I barely kept from laughing as I replied, "I get that a lot."

The cheeky Kentauri actually managed to keep a straight face as he intoned, "I can't possibly imagine why." He tucked the two pillows behind my back then he gave me a funny look, "Cinnamon and Sandalwood?"

I definitely needed to wash that stuff out. I shook my head, "Tuulea." Saying her name reminded me of the questions I wanted to ask Oreius. "Why did you stay with me? Shouldn't you have spent Christmas Eve and Christmas with your family?"

Oreius looked faintly surprised at my question, well, questions, but to his credit, he actually answered me. "I stayed with you because you needed a friend and protector to stand by you. Unlike Tuulea and Alithia, I don't have any immediate family so it made sense for me to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas nights watching over you."

I mulled over his words for a little while as he settled down on the rug in front of the fireplace before I decided to ask another question. "Oreius, why did Tuulea refer to you as a "young one"?"

He grinned before he answered, "Well, there is the fact that she is my elder by a good century and a half. And, because I am only one hundred and seven years old, which is not quite a quarter of the average lifespan for Centaurs."

I couldn't quite hide my shock, "You're _only_ one hundred and seven years old?" He chuckled at my expression and tone as he nodded, while I did some quick calculations in my head. "Wait, so you're essentially the Centaur equivalent of a Human in his 20's?" He shrugged and I took that as an indication that my calculations were close enough. "So, how is it that someone as young as you is the General of the Narnian Army?"

His response was so simple I couldn't help grinning a little. "Aslan chose me."

I pointed at him before I adjusted my pillows so I was in a more comfortable position, "You're a bit arrogant, Oreius, fortunately for you, you've actually earned the right to be that way." He chuckled in reply and I smiled in return. I could feel sleep tugging at me, so I decided to ask one last important question, "Oreius, are we friends?"

In the four months since we had met, I had never seen him looked more shocked than at that moment. He stared at me then he spoke slowly and carefully as if he was examining each word before he said it. "I consider you a friend, Katerina Alambiel, a pesky, sometimes annoying, and fairly insane friend, but a friend nevertheless. I have observed the way you interact with the people here, both friendly and indifferent, and even when you were trying to shield yourself from everything and everyone I could see that you had a good heart. I already consider you my friend and am honored to do so, but I would also like it very much and be honored if you counted me as one of your friends. Even if you never completely let your guard down, I hope you will consider me your friend."

I reached up and ran my thumb over my pendants before I carefully chose my words, "I do consider you my friend, Oreius. I wouldn't be in here talking to you if I did not. Nor, would I have told you how to stop my coup madness." He smirked at that and I changed the topic to something a bit lighter as I asked, "Do you never sleep, Kentauri?"

He chuckled, "Yes and more than you it seems."

I smiled as I whispered, "I doubt that, my friend." I fell asleep shortly after that little exchange. Oreius must have moved me sometime after I drifted off because when I woke in the morning I was back in my bed with the sheets tucked around my shoulders. After that night, our conversations were no longer mostly in the mentor/student vein instead they turned more and more to the varied types of conversation one finds in close friendships. Oreius was quickly becoming my confidant and I was slowly letting him act as one of my shields, but I still left a few barriers standing in the middle. I could only change so fast.

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**A/N: Please Read and Review! Did you make it to the end? Well, this chapter grew quite a bit during the writing process, so I don't expect to get any complaints about the length being miniscule this time. I had a hard time writing it too, so hopefully it comes across okay. I only have a couple more planned chapters left, but if y'all have any requests let me know and I'll do my best to meet them. Click the little button below and let me know what y'all think about this chapter. Did you like Father Christmas' little cameo? Any requests for the next one?**


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.

Summary: Not all shields look as we expected... Not all shields are physical...

Additional Disclaimer: I do not own the Wicked Witch of the West...

A/N: As requested by Dreaminsapphire, this chapter features one of the many arguments held between Katerina and Sallowpad the Raven. Hope it lives up to your expectations!

Chapter Nine

32 Yule 1001

I had forgotten how much more annoying people I already considered a bother tended to be if they bugged me in the first week after I had been sick. I had also forgotten that I tended to lose my natural filter between my brain and my mouth when sick or when irritated while still recovering from being sick. When I was first invited to stay on for an indefinite amount of time, not all of the Four's advisors and councilors were...enthusiastic...about the invitation or the fact that I accepted it. So, there would be impromptu gatherings of said advisors and councilors when I was in the presence of all four royals and I would be subjected to a mini-inquisition. Most of the advisors and councilors were content after the first four or five times (apparently this was an unheard of success in the wake of the White Witch) to accept me at my word, accept the vouch that Oreius, Sherket, and Alithia all made on my behalf, or ignore me until I went on my way after growing tired of the company at the Cair. I thought the ones who were holding out for the third option were of the mindset that I didn't leave because of weather making travel through the mountains dangerous until spring, which I thought was rather silly as I had no place else to go and I readily admitted it on more than one inquisition. Not to mention the fact, who in their right (or crazy) mind would grow tired of most of the company present at the Cair? Unfortunately, in the minority of the advisors and councilors who still tried to trick me into admitting I'm the wicked witch of the West (or was it the wicked witch from the North... not sure), there was one councilor in particular who quickly turned from a bother and occasional irritant into an outright aggravation.

It was Sixthday. It was also the third, no, fourth day since I had officially started to recover from my fever (as Alithia called it) and I had finally gained permission from Alithia and Tuulea to be up and about for at least half a day (it helped that I didn't wobble when they were checking my progress the day before...I only crumpled after they left). Lucy was overjoyed at my recovery and begged for me spend the morning with her (and the rest of the Royals), which I conceded to as Tuulea, Alithia, and Oreius had all informed me about how...upset...she had been upon learning I was sick. Of course, I doubted that Lucy knew another inquisition ambush had been set up once certain councilors heard I was to join their majesties that morning, otherwise the dear girl would have seen to it that my morning turned out quite differently.

It was eighth hour when Lucy led me into the large conservatory, chattering merrily about several subjects at once (it was a lot easier to keep track of those conversations when I was _not_ still getting over being sick). I was a little surprised to see so many Narnians already there in addition to their majesties, but I dismissed it as being the result of Lucy's habit of inviting everyone she saw to her impromptu gatherings (a mistake on my part as I later admitted to a rather annoyed Kentauri). My only excuse, well, excuses, would be that I wasn't that eager to be proactively alert that morning, I didn't think an inquisition would occur so soon, and I was starving...I hadn't eaten breakfast yet but I would have settled for a mug of hot chocolate or coffee (but I preferred finding something chocolate).

Susan had called Lucy over, leaving me free to wander over to the table loaded with various refreshments. I could smell coffee and...oooh, chocolate (three guesses as to what I was aiming for) as I reached the table. I had just poured a steaming mug of hot chocolate when a harsh, croaking voice broke through my chocolate-induced bliss (did I mention how much I loved chocolate?), "I see you have sufficiently recovered from your fever to join us this morn, Lady Katerina."

Some inquisitions start with all the subtlety of a bull Elephant charging into a battlefield with two Rhinos and four Centaurs on his flanks (now that had been an interesting training session), while other inquisitions are rightly called ambushes as they start with the exchange of niceties and are then followed by a series of possibly incriminating questions. As I eyed the Raven watching me from his perch atop one of the chairs near the refreshment table, I realized that Sallowpad was using the second strategy for that morning's inquisition. Unfortunately, that meant I had to play nice even though I wasn't in the mood to play at all. "For a little while, Master Sallowpad, or at least until the healers change their minds."

Sallowpad tilted his head to peer at me with one beady eye and I knew before he said a word that I probably wasn't going to enjoy this round of questions. "So, how do you feel about winter, Lady Katerina?"

Oh joy, we were going to start with the seemingly casual questions first. I shifted the still-untouched mug of hot chocolate so I could hold it with both hands as I answered with more congeniality than I had thought I was capable of just then. "I suppose I feel about it much like I feel about the other seasons. Each has something appealing and each has something that I could live without if I ever figured out how to do it. I have never seen reason to shy away from winter, neither have I wished it to stay longer than it should as everything has its season. Winter, spring, summer, autumn all have their appointed times of the year and I enjoy each season in its proper turn."

Sallowpad ruffled his wings a little then he countered, "You have never seen reason to shy from winter? What of blizzards or even the bitter cold? Do you find these aspects of winter appealing?"

"No, but blizzards and the bitter cold often come with winter just as spring can bring floods or summer droughts. Some winters are harsher than others are, and I readily admit that I do not enjoy the harsh weather save when I am separated from it by at least four sturdy walls and a solid roof. Of course, I never went through a winter that lasted one hundred years so I've not the same hesitancy as those with that experience. However, for the most part, I hold that the seasons themselves are benign, it is more one's attitude towards any particular season that dictates how appealing one does or does not find that particular season."

I heard someone murmuring that I had a point, but whoever said it was immediately hushed as we all waited for Sallowpad to respond. The old Raven only paused a moment before he grudgingly agreed, then he continued the interrogation with another seemingly casual question. "And, when winter changes to spring, will you be traveling on to other lands as the passes will then be clear?"

I tilted my head slightly then shrugged, "Oh, I have no doubt that I will be traveling around come spring, though I do not think I shall leave Narnia so soon. Unless, of course, I have already worn out my welcome by the time of spring thaw, then I suspect not only will I be leaving, but I shall have an abundance of help in doing so."

Lucy giggled behind me and Edmund snickered at the dry tone I used, while Sallowpad clacked his beak before he continued in a sly tone. "But, surely you have the wish to see others you know outside of Narnia. Unless, there is a particular reason you desire to remain in Narnia through the spring."

I repressed the urge to throw something (like my mug of hot chocolate) at the stubborn Raven's head as his insinuation that I was in Narnia for less than honest means was one I had already denied...seven different times. Instead, I gave another little shrug as I forced myself to answer in calm (i.e., not annoyed) tone. "As I have stated in previous conversations, I do not know anyone outside of Narnia, therefore, I can hardly desire to visit them. I desire to remain in Narnia for several reasons, one being that I was invited and then accepted, for the most part, and another being that I have nowhere else to go. Although I am certain that spring in Narnia is not something I shall easily forget, who knows it could even turn into a life-changing experience." At the time, I had no idea how right I was and, let me tell you, Murphy _loved_ that statement of mine.

Sallowpad suddenly ruffled his feathers and I knew I was about to be subjected to whatever was really stuck up his craw. "It is astonishing, Lady Katerina, how you express a desire to remain in Narnia, and yet you have recently committed such deeds that one would assume you intended to make a hasty retreat as soon as the snow clears from the passes. Does your family know what you do here? I rather doubt that such actions as attacking the Kings or giving Queen Lucy private and _unauthorized_ lessons in combat would meet with the approval of any family with honor."

The old Raven overstepped his bounds by bringing up my family and two incidents that had nothing to do with family honor. The dead quiet around us was what told me that everyone knew the Bird had delivered an underhanded insult...and they were all waiting for me to indicate how this would be handled. I took a calming breath as I carefully set my mug of now-cold chocolate on the table (otherwise it might accidently slip out of my hand in the direction of Sallowpad's head) and raised my old shields before I replied in an as even and unemotional voice as I could manage. "'Attack' implies that I committed an action with the intent to harm, physically or otherwise. I have never attacked the Kings, Master Sallowpad, unless perhaps you refer to my action of tackling them into the snow on the Twenty-second of Yule. If that is the case, let me assure you that I never acted with the intent to harm their majesties; I was merely making a point. Had that been an attack, then I would not be standing here as I committed my actions in the presence of a number of guards including General Oreius and Captain Ardon. Although, I do acknowledge that their majesties and others present were in all likelihood a bit surprised at my actions and might have mistook them for something less benign at first. Still, let me assure you, that if I were to actually attack someone, there would be no uncertainty or doubt on the part of observers or the individual that I was doing anything other than attacking said individual." Looking back, I probably should not have said that last bit, but I had a raging headache and Sallowpad the Raven had officially become an outright aggravation in my book.

I didn't give anyone time to interject as I continued in an even, unemotional, and coldly formal tone. "In regards to the lessons I have given to Queen Lucy, I made the privacy of the lessons a condition of my tutelage. I did not want any unfortunate incidents to occur because an overzealous guard mistook a lesson for a true attack. The matter of said lessons being unauthorized was the result of an unintentional oversight on my part, for which I have already taken responsibility. And, seeing how the matter was resolved between myself and their majesties as of yesterday, there is absolutely no reason to get your feathers in a bunch, Master Sallowpad." I probably should not have said that last bit either, but it slipped out before I could stop myself.

Sallowpad ruffled his feathers and clacked his beak, but he didn't say a word, which meant this round of inquisition was finally over. Lucy and Susan appeared next to me and hurried me out of the conservatory while I could clearly hear Edmund requesting Sallowpad stay for a private word while most of the other advisors and councilors departed to conduct their own business. I allowed Susan and Lucy to usher me into one of the rooms a couple halls down from the conservatory and they chattered at me and with their ladies-in-waiting about nonsense like whether it was best to wear a matching ribbon or to wear tastefully contrasting ribbons. Needless to say, the ladies-in-waiting (especially the Nymphs and surprisingly a Hedgehog) had many opinions on that sort of fluff and, thankfully, they more than made up for my lack of conversation.

I was also thankful that the relative inattention allowed me to mull over what had happened and to strengthen my old shields as best I could. Unfortunately, I forgot to pay close attention to what direction the conversation around me had turned to, so when I heard my name I responded to what I thought was a call for my attention. "Yes?"

Lucy's squeal of delight and the laugh of glee from Susan were the only warnings before my doom descended on me as the two Queens pulled me to my feet then ushered me down a new set of corridors, not to mention several flights of stairs. I was still trying to figure out what I had inadvertently agreed to when we entered a large room that I recognized as the one I had been dragged to nearly five months ago in order to allow Tuulea to create a new wardrobe for me. Suddenly, I didn't really want to know what I had agreed to anymore...of course, that question was answered as Lucy cheerfully clapped her hands and just about crowed, "Tuulea, Kat agreed to let us put her in dresses." I promised myself to never again answer any of the Royals when they call my name with anything that could be taken as an affirmative to the question they asked but I didn't hear...never again.

I hid my dismay at the thought of revealing one of my secrets when Tuulea settled that fear by sweeping in with roll after roll of fabric and just draping them all over me with a quick word of assurance. "Don't worry, Child, I have your measurements already so we'll just start by picking out colors and fabrics. We need both winter and spring garments. Don't squirm so, Child. And, don't make that face; a nice shade of pink won't hurt you..." I despised pink, especially on me. Tuulea smacked me on the back of the head with a roll of said pink fabric (don't ask me if it was satin or silk or something else, I wouldn't know), which she then handed to one of the Nymphs although I don't know if she was her assistant or one of the Queens' ladies-in-waiting. "Although, making that face might so we won't use it after all. No, let's see I think we should use some verdant, some emerald, periwinkle, oh this ruby and this cyan, not to mention some of this lovely amethyst and a nice sea blue. Of course, we should try to keep you in more jewel tones, Child, as they look stunning with your coloring. Not to mention the fact that you are someone who can wear almost any color and look good in it. So some sapphire should go in that pile..." I hated that I could wear almost any color and look good in it, I truly did.

Tuulea was bustling around so quickly that it was starting to make me dizzy, but she went perfectly still as she eyed the two fabrics I was actually examining with some interest. "Oh, honestly, Child, the dove gray and that chocolate brown are so...very well we shall compromise, here let me take those from you and I shall find something similar but not quite as dull. Hmm, perhaps if I make you some tunics out of these two fabrics, yes? Good, now for the design of your dresses, we shall have to come up with something that will fit you and won't be too much of a bother should you do something rash or get into one of your more interesting incidents. Yes, I know you don't plan on doing anything like that, but you seem to have developed a knack for such incidents especially according to what the good General has to say about the matter. And, I know you don't want to start with the fancier designs yet, so we shall have to compromise on that as well. Let's see I shall make you three dresses of the fancier designs, about six of these two-piece, oh and we shan't forget these ones here with the corset as part of the top bodice. Don't make that face, Child, I shall make sure you can still move so it won't feel much different than when you wear your cuirass. Now, where was I? Oh, yes I think five of those. Of course, this is just in the winter set. For the spring, we shall be using lighter fabrics and not just cotton so we'll need a slightly different variation on each of these designs here."

Why did I suddenly have the feeling that Tuulea and the Queens were not going to let me run around outside of training with just a nice tunic combined with trousers or a skirt if they had any say in the matter? So much for keeping them out of my closet. I carefully kept up my shields and the mask that I was fine throughout the long process of selecting colors, fabrics, and designs for both winter and spring dresses. I didn't want to upset Lucy or Susan by letting my shields down or letting my mask slip enough that they saw how bothered I had been by that last set of comments Sallowpad had made. Or, how uncomfortable their chattering crowd of ladies-in-waiting and assistants were making me as time wore on. Nevertheless, it was a relief when Tuulea switched from seamstress to healer and decreed that I had expended enough energy for the day and I should return to my rooms for rest. Susan and Lucy were oblivious to how much I needed the break, thank God, as they cheerfully bid me a good day with the promise from Lucy to come spend time with me the next morning.

I forced myself to eat the lunch waiting for me in my parlor, though I only managed half of it before I wandered back into my bedroom. I pulled off my boots and let my hair down so I could braid it then I just curled up on top of my bed as I struggled through some unexpected emotions dredged up that morning. I ran a thumb over the cross and lion pendants as I quietly hummed a lullaby to myself. I must have drifted off for a bit, because when I opened my eyes again the world outside my window was dark and the bedroom door had been pulled to but I could see light streaming in through the crack and underneath the door, it was probably candlelight.

I didn't bother with my boots although the floor was a little chilly whenever I missed the carpet as I padded to the door and stepped into my parlor, which was partially lit by one of the candelabras. The lighting kept half the parlor in the dark as neither the windows were open nor the fireplace lit, but I had no doubt that someone was in the parlor with me. I knew this for two reasons: first, there was a tray of food on my desk with two mugs next to it and, second, he opened the drapes as soon as I entered the parlor completely. I ignored him as I wandered over to my desk and surveyed the contents of the tray, attempting to decide if any of it appealed to me enough that I would try to eat. I spoke without turning around and in the same even and unemotional tone that I had used on Sallowpad, "If I eat, will you leave me alone?"

"Yes, if that is what you wish."

My temper flared and I snapped at him for no reason save that I was desperately struggling to maintain my shields, my mask, and my sense of independence. "I don't need a sitter or a nursemaid, General."

He sounded calm as ever as he simply stated, "I agree and I never intended to act as one. Eat, Katerina Alambiel, and I will leave you alone if that is what you wish." I could hear him moving around behind me but I refused to turn around even as I watched his shadow.

Sitting at my desk with my back to Oreius, I never felt more foolish as I pushed the smaller tray with the two mugs and a coffeepot away from me. I was being petty and even cruel in my actions as I poured myself some water and stared at the sandwich in front of me. My pride and my temper were definitely getting in the way of my ability to act civilly to one who had declared himself my friend only three nights ago. I glanced at the shadow falling across the left side of my desk and realized Oreius was leaning against the edge of the window with his back mostly towards me as he watched the stars, I guess (yes, I peeked over my shoulder to confirm all this). I turned back to the simple meal and dutifully ate even as the silence became nearly oppressive a disturbing difference to the silences that had fallen between us before and one I hated.

I finally finished eating and walked around to lean against the window opposite of Oreius. He didn't even look down at me as he calmly asked, "Do you wish for me to leave you alone, Katerina?"

You know how sometimes you can sense that the question a person asks of you is far more complex than what it appears on the surface? That night I knew that Oreius wasn't just asking me if I wanted him to leave me alone for the night. He was asking me if I wanted to retract my decision to let him into my life as my friend. If I told him "yes", we would never be more than mentor and student...we would never be true friends. The fact that he was giving me the option to undo what had been done three nights ago, that he cared enough to allow me to make the call, that is what shredded the last flimsy bits of my mask and the shields I had hastily thrown back up. I held a hand over my eyes as I released a shaky breath before I quietly whispered, "No. No, Kentauri, I don't want you to leave me alone. I would rather you stayed for a little while at least. Please forgive me. I should not have said those things to you and especially not in that tone. I was just..."

"Trying to maintain what little control you had left. I know the feeling and I forgive you." I pulled my emotions back under control and lowered my hand and then Oreius finally looked down at me before he moved away from the window. "I suppose you need a fire, Katerina Alambiel. Otherwise, you would probably fall ill again and then Alithia would blame _me_ for your actions."

Accepting the proverbial white flag, I rolled my eyes at him when he glanced back over his shoulder. "You do realize that just because Humans run at a lower body temperature than Centaurs, it doesn't mean you need a good fire any less than I do during winter, right? And, if I were to get sick because _you_ were too lazy to build a fire, you would deserve whatever Alithia decided to do to you." He smirked at me then turned his attention to the fireplace, which had a merrily burning fire within a matter of minutes. Well, he made that look disgustingly easy. It wasn't until Oreius laughed that I realized I had said the last bit aloud, and I just shrugged. "Coffee?"

So, at a little over two hours until midnight, I found myself sharing coffee with the Centaur General Oreius and slowly letting go of the hurt I had been hiding all day. Oreius had made himself comfortable on the large rug in front of my fireplace while I leaned back against the settee with a throw wrapped around my shoulders. We had been discussing some additional moves he thought I should teach to Lucy when I propped my coffee mug on my knees and gave Oreius a serious look. "Are you going to ask whatever question has been eating at you for the last hour and a half, Kentauri?"

He smirked and took another drink of his coffee before he replied. "I may have a question, but since I am still waiting for an answer to the last question I asked you, I think it would be best to hold onto this question a little longer."

I paused as I searched my memory for what question he might have asked that I still hadn't answered, then I had an "aha" moment. I gave him an incredulous look, "You mean your question about why I don't like being called 'Kitty'? That is what you have been waiting for?" He looked amused as he nodded and I shook my head. I hesitated about answering because I had an inkling as to what the current question bugging him concerned, and if I answered this question that one was sure to follow. "Swear that what I tell you tonight will not pass from your lips to another's ears and that if you should hear me repeat my answers you will give no sign that you ever heard them before that moment."

Oreius gave me that look of his that said he was questioning my sanity again, but his curiosity must have been victorious as he solemnly swore to do as I asked of him. I set my empty coffee mug down and twisted to fully face the patiently waiting Kentauri. "One of the reasons I don't like being called 'Kitty' is because it was used to tease me when I was younger. I had fallen out of a tree and broken my left arm due to the help of some local bullies who then decided it would be fun to chase me while meowing and saying things like "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty" and "Poor kitty fell out of the tree, what's she going to do now?" I outran them, but the problem was I got lost and ran into a dead-end with a seven-foot brick wall. So, I did the absolutely logical thing of trying to climb the wall even with my broken arm...don't laugh, Oreius, I haven't finished. I never turned around to see if the bullies I had run from were getting closer, I just started hopping up and down trying to find a handhold in this wall. At the time I was only three inches over five feet and there was nothing for me to use for a stand, so between those two facts and my broken arm, the wall-climbing venture wasn't going well. Of course, just when I was about to give up, I heard footsteps running closer so I started jumping again. I actually managed to make a running leap and I found a handhold about a foot below the top of the wall, but I couldn't pull myself up with a broken arm so I fell back to the ground. All of this was to the vast amusement of Clive and Jack who had chased off the bullies before they came looking for me. Jack wound up carrying me back to the Home because I had sprained my ankle when I fell and then I had to put up with four months of non-stop teasing in the form of being called "Kitty who could not climb a wall or break her fall." By the time the teasing finally ceased, I had decided that I never wanted to be called 'Kitty' again."

I grabbed a pillow off the settee and threw it at Oreius, "Stop laughing. I was ten and do you have any idea how annoying and somewhat traumatizing it was to not only be given a nickname but to have every child in the house turn it into a rhyme that they used for every rhyming game they could think of? It was...it was horrible. Stop laughing." I probably would have been more convincing if I had been able to keep from smiling.

I was starting to wonder what all was in Oreius' coffee when he finally managed to get his laughter under control. He stared at me with undisguised mirth as he shook his head, "That cannot be the only reason you dislike being called 'Kitty'."

I felt my smile slip as I remembered the other reason, the main reason I hated being called that name. I hesitated then I chose to trust Oreius with one of my secrets, "You're right. The main reason I hate being called 'Kitty' is that the Monster was very, very fond of calling me that when he held me prisoner. I had never realized how terrifying hearing someone call "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty" could be until that time. He liked to hunt in the dark, so I couldn't see him just hear him when he was taunting me by calling me 'Kitty' along with a couple other things I'd rather not repeat." I shook my head in an attempt to rid myself of those dark memories before I glanced up to meet Oreius' solemn gaze and gave a little shrug. "You see now, why I do not like to be called 'Kitty', yes?"

He nodded and I decided to move on with our conversation, "Next question?"

Of course, he changed his question when I tugged the throw closer as I shivered and he gave me an assessing look, "Are you really cold?"

I shivered again then leaned forward and barely touched his wrist with my fingers, "Does that answer your question, Kentauri?"

He rubbed his wrist then shook his head at me, "Should I build up the fire even higher or do you want to just come over here and sit between me and the fire?"

For a moment, I actually considered moving closer but my hesitancy about letting others too far into my personal space overruled and I just shook my head, "I'm fine. I'll just pour another cup of coffee and that should warm my fingers up nicely." Once I had said cup of coffee, I glanced at Oreius and intoned, "Next question?"

Oreius watched me carefully, as if he was trying to decided how much to say. "I gave you my word, Katerina Alambiel, that I would not push you for information. However, I wanted to let you know that there is no shame in being an orphan no matter how your family died."

I smirked in spite of myself, "I reacted to Sallowpad's question about my family by ignoring it, Oreius. What does that say about me?" I shook my head, "Don't answer that, Kentauri, it was rhetorical. I ignored it because I don't even know who my family is, much less whether they are alive or dead. I was found wandering the woods with no memory of who I was or where I came from, so it could be that I really am an orphan or I was just abandoned. And, the terrible thing is that I preferred for my family to be dead because it meant they weren't there due to unchangeable circumstances and not because they just didn't want me."

I always felt horrible about admitting to feeling that way when I was younger, but looking up, I didn't see disgust or pity in Oreius' eyes. All I saw was understanding for the girl I had been so long ago and the woman I was now. "As I said, there is no shame in the circumstances of your past. And, both of my promises still hold true." I nodded my thanks and he changed the subject to something lighter, "I understand that their majesties and Tuulea spent the morning adding to your wardrobe."

I leaned my head back with a groan, "Oh, don't remind me, Kentauri. I think they've decided that one way or another they are going to get me into dresses more days than not. This morning was just the choosing of colors, fabrics, and designs for both winter and spring! And, did I get any real say in the matter? No! Tuulea wants me back for initial fittings in two days...this is going to be utter torture. What's worse is that I have already been threatened with having every single garment I currently possess gussied up with ribbons and lace and other thingamajigs if I do not cooperate fully, which includes the wearing of all these dresses."

The Kentauri just looked at me, the skirt I was wearing, and then he raised an eyebrow. I responded by sticking my tongue out at him, which caught him off guard before he smirked. Then I saw a familiar look creep into his eyes as he mulled over my complaints. "Oh no."

"What's wrong?"

I glared at him, "You have that look in your eye."

Oreius shook his head, but that look never left. "What look?"

"That look where you are coming up with one of those tortures you have thinly disguised as training routines like the evil genius you are."

He laughed at me again (apparently my way of describing things entertained him) before he grinned, "You think I'm a genius."

"An _evil_ genius, Kentauri, _evil_. Pay attention, otherwise my entire attempt at a backhanded compliment goes to waste. You are a genius at creating tortures thinly disguised as training, but you are an _evil_ genius." I paused and judged that by his amused expression, Oreius still wasn't really registering the whole 'evil' part of what I called him. "What are you planning? Never mind, don't tell me, I'm sure I'll find out soon enough." I was right and I didn't appreciate it at all when I learned what it was.

Oreius laughed at me and he left shortly after that, I suspected it was to go fill in the blanks on his evil plan. I turned in and got some sleep, surprisingly I didn't experience any nightmares. Our late night talks on Sixthday became a routine for Oreius and myself, although the location of these talks changed at times, if we were in the same place as each other, every Sixthday ended with our talking about various subjects, some serious and some light. I suppose one might consider that night had been the first testing of our new relationship as official and true friends, which was the most important though there were certainly other more dramatic ways in which it was tested.

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**A/N: Please Read and Review! This chapter was a struggle to write, so I hope y'all enjoyed the end result. To anonymous reviewer "Hey", I am afraid that I only have five planned chapters left for this story unless I get requests. So, if anyone has a request for ****_Shields_**** (including who's POV the next chapter should be in), this is the time to let me know. :) I most likely won't post again this week as I have a paper to write, but hopefully new chapters will go up next week. Click the little review button below and let me know what y'all think about this chapter and if y'all have any requests for future chapters.**


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.

Summary: Not all shields look as we expected... Not all shields are physical...

Chapter Ten

24 Nor'Wind 1001

Of all the possible conversations I have had or prepared to have with the different soldiers under my command, I could honestly say that I _never_ expected or planned to have the conversation in which I was currently involved. But then, I never expected to have someone quite so stubborn or...no, the defiant glare being leveled at me could not be described as anything other than the product of one of the most stubborn beings I had ever met. I half-wondered if this conversation would have been easier if I had brought it up the week before on Sixthday instead of waiting until after training on Thirdday with an audience of Cletus, Ardon, and Sherket, but the glare left me with my doubts...at least, she was less likely to actually attack me with witnesses, I hoped. I sighed and tried once again to persuade the stubborn woman to concede to the change in her training that I had decided on at the end of Yule, "Katerina, being stubborn will not change my decision. It is not as if I require you to do this every day of training, only for three days out of each week."

Katerina somehow managed to glare harder at me as she shook her head, "Three days or six, I do not care because I _will not_ do it. I refuse."

She had been refusing for the last hour, much to Ardon's amusement as he had never seen anyone be that defiant to me who wasn't a friend from my colthood, such as Alithia. Sherket was also amused by the situation, though all three captains had the wisdom to stay quiet while I dealt with Katerina Alambiel. I folded my arms and stared down at the annoyingly stubborn woman standing before me. "Do you not spend an increasing amount of time each day with the Queens?" I waited until she gave a very grudging nod then continued in a very patient tone, "You will not always be wearing the clothes you are accustomed to fighting in, Katerina Alambiel. You spend enough time with the Queens that you may one day be wearing skirts or even a proper dress when you are required to fight. Therefore, you will wear skirts to training no less than three days a week."

I was hoping that I had finally phrased my reasoning in such a way that she could not argue any further without making herself sound ridiculous...something I had learned she rarely allowed herself to do during the course of a debate we had on the Sixthday before last. Her glare remained unchanged but Katerina Alambiel didn't say anything for several minutes, which I took as a sign that we were finally nearing the end of this ridiculous conversation. Then she placed her hands on her hips and gave me her most defiant glare yet as she asked, "And, if I still refuse, what exactly are _you_ going to do about it, Oreius? Force me into a dress?"

Sherket sneezed and Ardon choked as they both struggled not to laugh while Cletus looked torn between amusement and worry that I would finally lose all patience with the stubborn pest who was actually tapping her foot at me. The cheeky little thing was definitely trying to push me into a reaction. Well, I had one, but I doubted it was the one she wanted to see. I raised an eyebrow at her and stroked my beard as I spoke in a deliberately thoughtful tone, "No, I don't suppose I would do that, Katerina Alambiel. My thoughts were more along the lines of enlisting the aid of Tuulea and Alithia should you continue to prove uncooperative. I am certain those two ladies would be more than happy to help in this matter, especially Tuulea."

The one difficulty Katerina had was that during the time I'd known her and over the course of our weekly talks I had learned that Tuulea and Alithia were the only beings in Narnia who came the closest to actually intimidating her into meek semi-submission...and I willingly used that information to my favor. She went completely still as soon as I mentioned Tuulea and then she tilted her head to the side as she tried to discover from my expression if I was serious. "You wouldn't do that." I didn't say a word but she clearly read my expression accurately as she started to fume, "Oooh, you would do that to me. And, you would probably think the entire thing was hilarious to boot. You are the most...ah, fine! I will show up for training in skirts three days a week and I suppose by skirts you are including dresses and not just tunic with a skirt, right? Of course, you are. Why? Because you, my friend, are evil!" I couldn't resist smirking as I recalled the last time she called me 'evil' she had also admitted to thinking I was a genius and she called me 'friend' even if she was trying to deliver an insult, which meant she wasn't really angry. Not to mention the fact of the matter was I had most certainly won this debate with Katerina Alambiel.

Katerina graced me with a glare as I smirked down at her, but then her expression calmed and she spoke in a serene tone, "I'm going to start a coup and you, Kentauri, will be the first to go." I would have been more concerned if she hadn't looked up with eyes alight with hidden laughter before she walked between myself and Ardon to reach the door of the armory.

I watched her go and then shook my head at the cheekiness she was displaying more and more as she relaxed her guard. I turned back to the three captains and thanked Aslan that Katerina Alambiel displayed enough prudence to make sure her audience was not composed of any who would have attacked her or caused other...difficulty...at hearing her words. Sherket and Ardon seemed content to enjoy the humor of the situation, Cletus, on the other hand, hesitantly asked a question in keeping with his inherent nature as a Faun to fuss and worry over every matter. "Are you certain she was speaking only in jest? Might she not have spoken those words as a warning? Might it not be prudent to make sure that she was not truly angry enough to lash out in such a manner?"

I glanced over my shoulder at the door Katerina Alambiel had just disappeared through, and then I turned back to Cletus. "No, that was not a true warning. If she were going to take such actions, we would not know until she had already begun."

Ardon chuckled, "Besides, Cletus, we have nothing to worry about since Katerina Alambiel was quite clear that the main target of such a coup would be Oreius."

I rolled my eyes before addressing Sherket who looked up at me with pure amusement in her amber gaze. "Sherket, if you would, please catch up with Katerina Alambiel and ensure that she doesn't get lost again. Last week she spent seven hours wandering the lower levels of the palace before she finally asked one of the guards for directions."

Sherket nodded as she leaped down from the weapons locker she had chosen for her perch when the discussion with Katerina Alambiel first began. "Of course, General, and I shall also make sure she is not truly angry with you." That was not what I had intended for her to do, but Sherket was a Cat and, more importantly, she was female.

"Cletus, tomorrow you will oversee Sir Edmund's training while I supervise a sparring match between Katerina Alambiel and Sir Peter." The Faun Captain looked at me in surprise but nodded silently before I dismissed him.

I looked at the wall where the Kings' swords and shields hung side by side and a short distance away from them hung Chrysaor, the Sword of Esti, as Ardon broke the silence. "You moved it up and by more than three months, why?"

"She is ready and I originally chose the timeframe for her training based on everything I didn't know at the time. Besides, I don't believe she would ever intentionally harm the Kings, if only because she cares too much for Queen Lucy to do so."

Ardon nodded thoughtfully then he gave me an amused look, "I noticed that you forced her to agree to come to training in skirts, but you said nothing to her about shoes."

I shook my head, "Ardon, if I had even breathed a single word to Katerina Alambiel about wearing something other than her boots for training, I would not have survived the conversation unscathed. Besides, even if Tuulea and the Queens manage to get her to wear something other than her boots, I do not think she would ever try to fight in them. She would probably take them off and throw them at the enemy before attacking." I could only hope that she never threw her shoes at me because I had seen her practice throwing her knives and her aim was near perfect.

Ardon chuckled, "That does sound like something she would do based on what I have seen."

Another reason I would never dream of trying to get Katerina to change her footwear for training came to mind, and I muttered. "Not to mention the fact that with her luck, if she were to wear something other than those boots to training, she would probably take one step into the training yard and somehow manage to break her leg."

Ardon laughed, "You really think she could manage that, Oreius?"

I rolled my eyes at him as I replied in a completely serious tone, "Ardon, she broke her arm with her own shield while wearing it. Of course, I think she could manage it, which is why I won't even suggest such an exercise."

Ardon looked amused, but he apparently couldn't think of anything to add other than to comment, "Training shall be interesting tomorrow."

I silently agreed with him as we left the armory together and then parted ways. I had some reports to look over before I joined Sherket in observing Katerina's afternoon lesson with Queen Lucy, but first I decided to see if there was something chocolate in the kitchens and to find a book that Katerina Alambiel hadn't read...just in case. However, I knew that even if she didn't follow through with her teasing threat about starting a coup, Katerina Alambiel would find a way to take her revenge on me for the adaptation to her training. I just didn't know for sure what way she would accomplish that goal.

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27 Nor'Wind 1001

I was impressed with the restraint Katerina Alambiel had shown for the two days immediately following the initial change to her training. So far, there had been no injuries, nothing had been thrown at me, the armory was still intact, and she hadn't started a coup. In fact, the most she had done was inform Queen Lucy that on the days when she had to wear skirts to training, she required Lucy to also wear skirts for her afternoon lessons...not that Queen Lucy minded. However, as soon as she looked me in the eyes when she arrived in the armory on Sixthday wearing a tunic and skirt, I knew that she was going to do something that morn and it would be either during training or immediately afterward.

It was when I called a brief halt to training that Katerina put whatever scheme she had settled on into action. I looked across the courtyard to see Katerina Alambiel was in deep conversation with Peter and Edmund. Cletus walked over to me and nodded to our three students, "They are planning something."

I smirked, "No, _she_ has already planned something and is now merely informing Sir Wolfsbane and Sir How of their roles in her plan."

Cletus couldn't argue with my statement and I quickly informed him of a change to the training planned for the day before I called the three conspirators back to training. The brothers both glanced at Katerina Alambiel when I informed them of the change to their sparring partners before they prepared to spar against Cletus, which left Katerina and I to spar against each other. I was hoping to delay the inevitable for a few moments longer.

Katerina Alambiel was a natural with sword fighting and her skill had quickly progressed to the point where I had to work to keep her from scoring a hit against me during our spars. She still had not achieved the warrior's center, that place where natural skill and instinct mesh with training to become a single cohesive entity that turned the most mundane warrior into a formidable opponent and a formidable warrior into a nigh unstoppable force. That was something I intended to change as I had seen her achieve it once and I knew she could do it again...I just hadn't found the right way to push her yet.

Katerina dodged under my twin blades and lunged forward in an attempt to get inside my guard. I blocked her strike and caught the edge of Chrysaor with one blade while forcing her to jump over the other one. With a flick of the wrist, I sent Chrysaor flying out of her grasp then I brought both swords down in backhand swing that she avoided by leaping backward. I advanced, keeping Katerina from reaching her sword, and slashed both blades through the air towards her torso, which slid off a shield that had been thrust between Katerina and myself at the last moment before I 'killed' her. Katerina glanced over her shoulder to meet the gaze of Sir Peter Wolfsbane and smiled, "You cut it a little close, Peter."

Then, being the cheeky pest she was, Katerina Alambiel looked over the top of Peter's shield and stuck her tongue out at me before they both dodged around me in a dash to reach Chrysaor. I had to admit that Katerina had found a theoretically sound strategy, even though that wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I asked her to let other people serve as her shields. I quickly cut them off and landed a blow that clearly jarred Peter's shield arm. I expected Peter to fall back, leaving Katerina exposed, but instead she moved the three steps back in sync with her chosen shield bearer. I hid a grin as I forced them to turn enough that I could see Peter had clamped his sword hand around Katerina's belt so when they moved, it would be far more difficult for them to accidently loose each other. A clever tactic.

Katerina and Peter continued to move in unison as he defended with the shield and she attacked with the sword. I was more impressed than I would ever admit by how they managed to work together so smoothly and for more than a few moves, considering they only began sparring against each other three days beforehand and had never fought together. However, there was a reason I was the sword master and they were the students. I launched a series of hard hits against Peter's shield and parried every strike Katerina attempted with enough force that in a matter of minutes they were completely on the defensive as I steadily forced them back across the training yard. Katerina stumbled under the force of one hit and Peter automatically moved his hand from her belt to grab her around the waist. I took the advantage and slammed both of my swords hard against Peter's shield, which knocked both of them off their feet. I didn't give them the opportunity to regain their feet before I declared them both 'dead' and sheathed my swords as I waited for them to stand back up.

Katerina Alambiel rolled off Peter and brushed some snow off her skirt as she muttered, "I can't believe that actually worked."

I raised an eyebrow, but it was Edmund who asked the question that came to mind on the heels of such a statement. "What do you mean by that, Kat? It was your plan, shouldn't you have known if it worked or not?"

Katerina looked surprised for a moment and I knew she hadn't realized she had said anything aloud...another habit she seemed to have developed as she relaxed her guard. I continued to listen to the conversation even as I walked around the trio. "Oh, I knew it worked...in theory. I just hadn't had the chance to test it before today, and since we were sparring with Oreius, well, I didn't think we would last nearly so long as we did. Well done, Peter, by the way."

Peter laughed but didn't say anything as Edmund shook his head at Katerina, "You realize that you're insane, right, Kat? Who tests a theory on any Centaur, much less Oreius?" Cletus chuckled softly beside me and I smirked.

I already knew the answers to those questions, but I paused to hear Katerina's answer and looked over my shoulder in time to see her give an unconcerned shrug. "Well, I do, obviously. See, the way I figure it, if I test my theories on Oreius and they don't immediately fail, I am certain they will work long enough for me to survive any actual battles. And, sanity is relative."

I looked up at the clouds gathering overhead and prayed for a little more patience as it seemed Katerina Alambiel was going to act even less sane than usual. I dismissed them from training and lowered my gaze in time to see Katerina Alambiel pass me with a mischievous look in her eyes. I didn't know why she had that look, but I could only hope she wasn't planning something too outrageous or, if she was, that I would find out in time to keep her from getting herself into the kind of trouble she could not talk her way out of. The Kings followed her with King Edmund still shaking his head, "She's insane, Peter, completely insane. She's brilliant and an absolute brick, but she's also completely insane."

The High King laughed as he clapped his brother on the shoulder, "Ed, we have known our Katerina was insane since we heard how she tackled Werewolves when she didn't have so much as a knife on her. Besides, she holds that sanity is relative, are _you_ going to tell her otherwise?"

I had to suppress the urge to laugh as King Edmund responded almost before his brother could finish his question, "By the Lion, no, Peter! Based on the way she fights, I want her to stay on our side and if she believes sanity is relative, that is perfectly all right with me so long as she stays on our side."

I wondered if King Edmund was a little worried that Katerina Alambiel was listening to their conversation, which she probably was, but I also agreed with the view that Katerina was someone whom it was safer to keep on our side of the battle lines. Of course, since she was constantly drawing her own personal battle lines in regards to pranks and other mischief, I supposed the best I could hope for was that she would stick to relatively harmless acts of revenge. In spite of the fact that I considered Katerina Alambiel a friend, I couldn't help being slightly suspicious when she left the armory as I entered and without a single teasing word or gesture. She had definitely planned something more elaborate than a twist to how she trained that morn; unfortunately, I had no idea what her plan involved until she set it in motion an hour before noon.

The Kings, Queen Lucy, and Katerina Alambiel had all gathered in a snowy clearing not even forty feet from the low hill where Katerina had turned a shield into a sled. I had placed myself among their guard for several reasons, not the least of which was the fact that I knew Katerina Alambiel was planning something. At the moment, all four Humans were engrossed in a quiet debate over something that appeared to be related to a deep snow bank framing the northern and western edges of the clearing, which Queen Lucy had already been fished out of by High King Peter and Katerina Alambiel. Ardon and Cletus were also among the guards keeping watch, but only Ardon and I were in a visible position as we had accompanied the four from the palace.

An impromptu snowball fight broke out between them after Queen Lucy threw a snowball that hit the High King directly in the face and the air was soon filled with the sound of the three Royals' laughter. I had lost track of Katerina Alambiel in the midst of it all, so I was...unprepared...for what happened next. I had been speaking to Ardon when he looked at the clearing and a look of disbelief crossed his face. I turned to see what had happened to cause that look and was instantly blinded as a snowball hit me. When I scraped the snow out of my eyes, I could see the Kings and Katerina Alambiel standing in the center of the clearing with wide-eyed looks. The look on my own face must have made it very clear as to how much I _enjoyed_ being blinded by a snowball because the Kings decided to cut their losses and pointed to Katerina Alambiel who was standing between them.

She made a noise of protest at being sold-out, but I already knew that she had to have been the one to throw the snowball at me. Who else would it have been? All three of them began to cautiously inch backwards as I made my way over to one of the larger snow banks with Ardon shadowing me. I never hesitated before I scooped up a handful of snow, compacted it together, and then threw it at the one responsible for the last snowball. She ducked out of the way and it hit the High King in the back. The three looked at each other and I could easily see the grins spreading across their faces as they each made another snowball then threw them at Ardon and myself with each scoring a hit.

Ardon nodded to me and we both scooped up some more snow and quickly fashioned the handfuls into snowballs, which was the signal to everyone watching that a much larger snowball fight was underway than had originally been planned. It didn't take long before Queen Lucy charmed several of the Faun archers and some Nymphs into helping them. Cletus had joined Ardon and I, so it remained sword masters against students, but his true motivation for joining the game became clear after I saw him gently tackle the Nymph he fancied. I finally ended the snowball fight when I grabbed Katerina Alambiel and tossed her into the snow bank. Looking down at her as she floundered in the snow that came up to her waist, I finally leaned over and hauled her out of the mess. Hanging onto my forearm as she found her footing, Katerina glanced up and asked, "So, would you believe me if I told you that I was not the one who threw that snowball?"

I smirked, "No. Because your eyes give away the truth and you are far too pleased with yourself for someone who does not like to lose." She didn't answer just smiled before she dashed around me to join Queen Lucy as the Royals made their way back to the Cair. Ardon and I fell into step just behind them. We all ignored the curious looks we received as three Royals, their guest, a Captain, and the General of the Army trudged into the palace completely covered in snow and looking like we had picked a fight with a blizzard and lost.

That afternoon I had some urgent business to attend to, so Sherket alone observed Queen Lucy's afternoon lesson with Katerina Alambiel. It was about the ninth hour that night when I went to find Katerina in one of the solariums just off the library for our weekly talk. Entering the room, I was a little surprised when Katerina Alambiel completely ignored me even though she should have heard my hooves echo on the marble floor. Walking over to her, I saw that she was reading and apparently, she was completely immersed in the book since I was nearly on top of her and she still hadn't given any indication that she was aware of my presence. Contrary to what some might believe, I do have a sense of humor and will even indulge in pranks on occasion, especially on occasions that are too good to pass up. That night presented me with such an occasion, so I reached out and just barely touched Katerina on her shoulder. Her reaction was even better than I thought it would be as she not only jolted at the touch, but she leaped out of her chair with a strangled yelp and spun around with the book clutched to her chest. I was very amused by her reaction because she never started like that during training or at any other time when one might expect someone to be startled. She was not so amused and she let me know by throwing three pillows at my head as I stood there laughing. Our talk that night was highly entertaining as she groused about a Kentauri with no manners and I ignored her complaints, after all, I could tell that she didn't mean them based on the smile she couldn't successfully banish even when I beat her thrice at chess. When one is friends with someone as unpredictable as Katerina Alambiel it was an advantage to know that sneaking up on her was not only possible but essentially effortless, at least when she was caught up in whatever book she was reading. It was also the easiest way to even the score when she was up to more mischief than usual.

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**A/N: Please Read and Review! So, this chapter is a little different in that it's completely from Oreius' POV, and don't worry Katerina will take back over the narration in the next chapter. All right, so since this chapter was so long and combined two planned elements, there are only three planned chapters left. So, if y'all have any requests for a specific scene you would like to see or POV you would like for the next chapter, let me know and I shall do my best to fulfill that request. Click the little review button below and let me know what y'all thought about this chapter and what else you would like to see in future chapters!**


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.

Summary: Not all shields look as we expected... Not all shields are physical...

Additional Disclaimer: Martil and Silvo are mentioned with the express permission of Elecktrum who was so kind as to let me borrow them...

A/N: I want to apologize to those of you had an alert for a new chapter and then couldn't read the chapter. Long story short is I made a couple of big errors in the first version of Chapter Eleven, so I pulled it down and rewrote a good piece of it (I'm sure those of you who read it before I pulled it can tell which section had the biggest revamp). Sorry for inconvenience! Here is the new revamped version of _Shields_ Chapter Eleven.

Chapter Eleven

32 Nor'Wind 1001

Some days in life could be more random than others; this was especially true of my life (even more so after I arrived in Narnia). Some days ended in a completely different way from whence they began, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worst, or, in my case, they change from a simple bet to a rather ambitious (and admittedly insane) prank. The Fourthday of the first full week after Oreius initially implicated my new training regime of three days in skirts and three days in my normal attire was a random day of the third variety.

It was about ten in the morning when I lost a bet to Edmund and Lucy (I have since made a policy to _never_ bet against those two..._never_). Looking back, I should have known better than to let those two talk me into making the bet in the first place, especially since they didn't tell me what I would have to do if I lost the bet...until I lost it. Somehow I convinced myself that two kids who were nine and eleven wouldn't require me to do anything too terrible if I lost (of course, I had also convinced myself that I actually wouldn't lose the bet)...I was wrong (I blame Edmund's caffeine depravation). The bet I had lost would explain why I was pacing off a relatively deserted hall just off one of the many solariums with the two miniature evil geniuses watching with gleeful anticipation (I wondered if Edmund had been getting tips on these evil plans from Oreius).

Once I had paced off the distance, I walked to the farthest point and looked over my shoulder to see twin grins (if they weren't so cute, I would have been irritated), "So, if I mess this up, you'll patch me back together, right?"

They looked at each other then looked at me and chorused, "Of course, Kat!" Now, someone tell me why I didn't quite believe them...well, I definitely didn't believe Edmund.

I glanced at the ceiling and prayed I could still pull off the stunt I was about to try...on marble floors...if Murphy didn't get me, it would be a miracle. I tensed then threw myself up and backwards...and caught myself on my hands before I kept going. Yes, the penalty for losing the bet was a back flip...well, actually it was a series of four back flips, then a back flip with a half twist, and then the end stunt of a back handspring that morphed into an Arabian front, which I had not done in over ten months. Once I got through the first back flip, I quit worrying about the others since they would be easy once I got my momentum going. I transformed my back handspring into an Arabian front by using a half turn to change it into a forward somersault and landed with a step out (I was going to land like that anyway, might as well make it look graceful and hope no one noticed the wobble). It was when I turned another handspring into a handstand, I realized that I had gained a bigger audience (in more ways than one) as I was a little past where Edmund and Lucy were standing and I could see that they had been joined by their older siblings, Alithia, Ardon, and Oreius. This was in addition to the Tiger, Wolf, and three Fauns who were the guards assigned to the area for the morning (I'm a one-woman sideshow, oh joy). I felt the muscles in my shoulders and arms start to protest at the activity I was requiring of them and I refocused on what I was supposed to be doing at the moment.

I turned my handstand into a hand-walk as I moved forward five paces, only to stop as Ptah crouched in front of me (he had started to become rather attached to me...well, that and he was a rather nosy creature). "What are you doing?"

I blew some loose strands of hair out of my face then answered (he wasn't going to move until I did and having an adult male Leopard in the way was...inconvenient), "Well, at the moment, I'm doing a handstand."

He perked his ears as he tilted his head (that looked really funny upside-down...and I was going loopy from all the blood running to my head). "Why?"

Ah, that was a good question...did I have an answer? Yes. Was it a good one? No, not really. "I lost a bet. And, I've one more thing to do in order to make up for that loss, so if you would be so kind..." The blood was really starting to run to my head...fortunately, Ptah wasted no time in moving to the side (even though he only did it because he wanted to see what else I was going to do). I moved forward one more pace and then I slowly shifted my weight and raised my left hand until I was balancing solely on my right hand. I put my left hand back down, tensed, and then flipped back to my feet (the entire hall flipped with me...and after me...that was so fun...not).

I stood there a minute to make sure I did not fall on my face and to thank God that Murphy had actually left me alone in spite of the fact I was asking for it by doing gymnastics after not practicing in months and on marble floors no less. Lucy clapped her hands in delight while everyone else looked suitably impressed (okay certain Centaurs looked like they were also doubting my sanity...but that was normal so I ignored it...as per usual). The two culprits responsible for the show walked over to me and just grinned...oh, if I didn't actually like them, they would have been in so much trouble. I rolled my eyes at them, "The terms have been satisfied, yes?"

They looked at each other then nodded, "Yes!" Well, thank God for that because I was never going to do it again...well, at least not because of a bet...or on marble floors. I took the first opportunity to leave that presented itself and I was thankful that I had managed to escape without anyone asking for the details of the bet...or so I thought.

There was one problem with counting Centaurs and big Cats like Leopards in my group of friends and acquaintances...I couldn't get away from them unless they decided to be nice and give me a break. Ptah caught up with me first and brushed against my right leg (it was a subtle way for Sefu, Heru, and, of course, Ptah to correct my trajectory when they accompanied me as I moved through the Cair...I mean I couldn't exactly ignore over 200 pounds of big Cat pressing against me) as Alithia, Ardon, and Oreius joined us. I kept walking but started ticking off points with my fingers, "Before you say anything, yes I know that was rather risky to the point of inviting a cracked skull and a broken neck though that would be the least of my worries if it had actually happened while you were there. No, I did not intend to do that when I woke up this morning. Yes, I did know what I was doing when I did it...actually, I knew what I was doing before I even started. And, yes that part is a bit of a change from the norm. No, I did not leave my God-given common sense behind this morning. Yes, I realize you would prefer if I did not do such a thing again even if it was impressive. No, I cannot promise I will never do such a thing again, but then you didn't expect me to be able to anyway." I glanced down at Ptah who had enjoyed my little summarization of just about every lecture I have received from Alithia and Oreius at one point or another (there was a bit of a theme for those lectures), "Did I forget anything, Ptah?"

The Leopard gave a raspy chuckle, "Only one thing, my Lady. What was the bet that you lost?"

I glanced from the Centaurs (two of whom...guess who...looked distinctly less than amused...until Ptah asked about the bet) to the Leopard then back before I abruptly faced forward and tried to ignore the blush creeping up my face and neck. "I couldn't say…actually, it would probably be better if I told you instead of the two troublemakers who caused it all. All right, it was a simple enough bet, all I had to do was avoid running into you Centaurs for the morning. And, I was doing fine until I ran into you, Oreius, so the performance back there is really your fault."

It took them less than five seconds to realize that I was not referring to seeing and talking to Centaurs, but actually running into them. I, unfortunately, had a bad habit of skidding around corners and bouncing off the side (and occasionally front) of whatever Centaur happened to be in the vicinity...mainly Ardon, Oreius, and Stonebrook. That morning I had lost my footing after some Dogs tracked snow, mud, and water through several halls (much to the chagrin of the housekeeping staff) and I slid around the corner and slammed into Oreius' front...he had managed to catch me before I could fall.

I shook my head ruefully as I recalled how Edmund had looked far too pleased with himself that I had lost the bet (I almost suspected the miniature evil genius of planning for that to happen...but no proof meant no retaliation, just in case I was wrong). "Since I actually thought I could get through the morning without such a mishap occurring, I didn't press them for the stakes if I lost. After I lost, I found out that I had to do that little performance back there...on marble floors of all things."

They exchanged amused glances, then Oreius raised an eyebrow at me, "If you didn't know what the stakes of the bet were, why did you take it in the first place?"

Good question...I paused just long enough that all four of my companions sighed and shook their heads at me (sad, I know). "I was fooled by the innocent faces...I don't intend to let it happen again."

Oreius smirked, "And, how often do your intentions actually match your actions, Katerina Alambiel?"

We both knew what he was referring to but he said that as if I had meant for those things to happen and I hadn't...well, swapping the sugar out for salt in the officers' refreshments on Firstday had been intentional, but they all deserved it. The hilarious thing about that particular prank was Oreius and the other officers all assumed it was Edmund who had been behind the incident until I had confessed (that confession was promptly followed by me hiding for the rest of Firstday from every officer except Sherket...training on Secondday had been long and painful). I gave him a hurt look, "I've gotten better...mostly"

He didn't answer just shook his head again before he and Ardon caught me by the shoulders and spun me to the right so I would end up in the right hall for my quarters...Ardon sent me off with a light smack to the back of the head. After carefully stretching out my poor muscles, I hid myself in the library lost in the early days of Narnia with a cup of hot chocolate (Elwood was not in that day and Stonebrook didn't mind...unlike the grumpy Badger) until it was time for me to meet Lucy in the southeastern solarium for her knife training.

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As I had told Sallowpad at the end of Yule, the Royals and I had reached an agreement as to how continued lessons for Lucy were to proceed. This agreement included the decision that either Oreius or Sherket or both would be present as observers for each lesson, and on the days when neither was available it would fall to Ardon to stand in. So far, Ardon's presence had not been required (I wasn't sure if he was disappointed or relieved by that fact...actually, I had the feeling he didn't know either). Because Lucy did have courtly duties in the late mornings and early afternoons, we set our lesson times for late in the afternoon though I would make the final decision as to whether we would have true practice when I saw her in the solarium (teacher's prerogative was such a lovely thing...when it wasn't being used on me).

That particular afternoon both Sherket and Oreius were observing the lesson, which I admit could have been going a lot smoother. I was trying to teach Lucy one specific defensive move, but I wasn't having as much success as usual with communicating the concept of it in a way that she could grasp. I called a brief halt to our lesson and sheathed my knives while Lucy got a drink. I tapped my chin while I tried to think of some other way of approaching the lesson as I watched Sherket wander over to Lucy's side and talk to her (buying me time so I could figure out what to do). I started walking the length of the room (and walking off the lingering soreness in my muscles from my earlier gymnastics...that really was such a silly bet) when I met Oreius' gaze and...well, he was the senior sword master of Cair Paravel...might as well pick his brain while I had the chance. He raised an eyebrow as I walked over to join him (normally I ignored both him and Sherket until I had dismissed Lucy from her lesson), and then the cheeky Kentauri had the nerve to ask, "Experiencing difficulty, Katerina Alambiel?"

I had to remind myself that it would have painful repercussions during _my_ training the next morning if I gave in to the urge to smack him, so I couldn't smack the cheeky Centaur (no matter how tempting). I settled for rolling my eyes as I replied with as much sarcasm as possible, "No, Oreius, I was planning to frustrate a nine-year-old this afternoon." I paused then continued in a normal tone, "This particular concept is just...hard...I mean, it took Charlie two months before he found a way to teach me so I understood it and I was older than Lucy."

Oreius decided to be helpful instead of just annoying as he looked from me to where Lucy stood across the room. "Perhaps you should consider what this Charlie did that worked with you, you never know, it might work with Queen Lucy as well."

A rather simple solution that I should have thought of myself (I blamed the gymnastics for why I didn't), I glanced over to see Lucy giggling at whatever Sherket was telling her. At that moment, I remembered the exact technique Charlie had used to help me understand not only this move but also other even more complicated moves. And, it would let me get a little revenge on Oreius for being cheeky and annoying (I always enjoyed my revenge moments, especially since I had to work for most of them). It was time for show, not tell.

I walked to the center of the room and called for Sherket and Lucy to join me. I quickly whispered my plan in the Leopard Captain's ear and she gave me an amused look before nodding her agreement to my request. I couldn't keep the somewhat evil (okay, it was completely evil) grin from spreading across my face as I turned back around and beckoned for Oreius to come join the three of us. He came, but he didn't look too eager to do so (step one of revenge plan: anticipation for me/dread for him...check). I waited until the Kentauri finally joined us (he took as much time as he could without looking completely reluctant...he knew I was up to something), then I looked down at Lucy and went back into teacher mode. "Some concepts, like this one, are rather difficult to grasp based on an explanation alone. Therefore, I believe a demonstration is in order. Oreius and I shall conduct the demonstration while Sherket explains what we're doing as the two of you watch."

Oreius graced me with a look that said I was not going to get off easy for this one (step two of revenge plan: turn Oreius into a guinea pig...check) and I stuck my tongue out at him...but only after I had my back to Lucy...I had to be a good role model, you know. I grinned at him as I slid my sai knives out of the hidden sheaths of my cuirass, "Come now, Oreius, don't be that way. This was your idea...and besides, we couldn't let a perfectly good general go to waste, now could we?" I stated that last bit in the same tone one would use when referring to a toy (which Oreius really...appreciated...me doing), causing Lucy to giggle and Sherket to sneeze twice as she tried to control her laughter (step three of revenge plan: bait Oreius as much as possible...in progress).

Lucy and Sherket quickly moved to the far wall as Oreius unsheathed his right-hand sword while I gave my knives a practice twirl as we began to circle each other. Oreius feinted to my right and I dodged to his right, my left, and barely missed landing a blow on his arm. I had to remind myself that I was solely fighting from the defensive position in this particular sparring match, otherwise there were several openings I could have taken advantage of and ended the game. He was taunting me by leaving those openings, trying to bait me into making a mistake. Well, two people could play that game. I dodged under another blow and he was forced to hop to the side in order to avoid my knife. I leaned forward slightly and taunted, "Experiencing difficulty, Kentauri?"

The mocking and taunting of Centaurs in general, and of Oreius in particular, was not something that most Narnians...or other sane people...did. Of course, that didn't stop me from indulging in the entertainment I gained from taunting Oreius, but then I counted on Oreius' very high tolerance for my antics to keep me safe from the worst repercussions (admittedly, I did push his buttons as often as I could to see what kind of reaction I might provoke out of him...normally, I ended up with a very hard day/week of training and/or tossed across/into something). I'm still not sure why I found it so entertaining to provoke Oreius, but if I was going to do something he would be less than thrilled about anyway, I figured I might as well enjoy watching his reactions (when he showed them...the Kentauri was one of the best I had seen at hiding his thoughts and emotions, almost as good as I was). Oreius, Alithia, Ardon, and several other people, including Tuulea, all adhered to the opinion that I did these things because I had no sense of self-preservation and my grip on what other people called sanity was tentative at the best of times (I disagreed with them on both points, by the way).

Oreius glared at me and I knew that step three of my revenge plan was now complete...now for step four: surviving until step five (step four would be the one that never changed for any of my plans). We took care to slow the speed with which we usually sparred, so Lucy could see everything we were doing with ease. I could hear Sherket softly whispering the tactics I was using as I had asked her to, but then I tuned them out as I caught Oreius' sword with the edge of my knife and shoved hard as I darted out from under the blade and around to his left. We went back and forth, neither scoring a hit or gaining the advantage, until I miscalculated my next move and gave Oreius an opportunity he would have been insane to pass up...and, my irritated personal opinion aside, Oreius couldn't really be called insane (somewhat arrogant and occasionally the slightest bit egotistical, yes...insane, not really).

I backed up as Oreius charged me and dodged his strike again by dropping into a roll away from him. I heard Lucy gasp and automatically glanced over at her to see what was wrong (I found out later that she had just reacted to me letting Oreius get fairly close with the sword aimed at my neck before I dropped under the strike), as it was I made an amateur mistake that got people killed in real fights. Charlie, oh my goodness, Charlie would have slapped me upside the head (and not as a sign of affection either) for doing such a thing. _I_ would have slapped me upside the head for doing such a thing. I took my eyes off my opponent and the fight wasn't over (well, it hadn't been before I looked away), which meant I _never_ should have taken my eyes off the Kentauri.

My eyes snapped back to Oreius as he sheathed his sword and I brought both knives up in an attempt to land a blow while he was vulnerable (although I misjudged his plan, so you can guess how it ended). He easily demonstrated why I had been pounding the litany of an unarmed opponent did not mean you were safe into Lucy since we first started. He caught both of my wrists and forced me to drop my knives, which landed with a soft thud on the rug beside my feet. It was a bad position for me to be in, but I was certain I could still pull off my plan as all I had to do was reach one knife. Oreius and I stared at each other for a moment, and then I twisted my wrists so I could wrap my hands around _his_ wrists. I braced myself on his wrists as I leaped up and kicked him as hard as I could just below his ribs where there was a gap between the pieces of his armor (he hadn't expected me to do that, which was the only reason my tactic worked). He grunted at the impact of my boots, and he dropped his hold...unfortunately, I still had both feet in the air so my landing was...less than graceful.

I landed in an awkward crouch but I managed to grab both knives and bring them up just in time to meet a jarring blow, which knocked me completely off my feet. I landed hard on my back and I was thankful that I had insisted on covering the entirety of the solarium's floor with rugs, even though all the air left my lungs in a rush and I knew I was going to have a number of lovely new bruises by evening. Training was going to be such fun in the morning. The impact caused my knives to slip out of my grasp and then Oreius pinned me in place with one hoof to my abdomen (he might not have been as huge as Ardon, but you get pinned to ground by an adult Centaur and see how well you can move even if it is only by a hoof). My torso was not going to go anywhere until Oreius let me up, so instead I stretched my left arm out in a rather desperate attempt to reach my knife, which was lying scant centimeters from my fingertips. That effort lasted a whole two seconds before Oreius casually drew his sword and flicked my knife a good foot away...that just wasn't fair. I glared up at him, "Showoff."

He smirked down at me as he rested the point of his sword mere inches to the left of my head, "Did you not require that I help you with a demonstration? Something along the lines of not letting a "perfectly good general go to waste," was that not what you said?"

And, people thought _I_ was vindictive...obviously, they never provoked Oreius. I tried to ignore the weight of his hoof on my stomach (it didn't hurt, but it was starting to get a mite uncomfortable) as I answered in a very nonchalant tone, "You need a sense of humor, Kentauri. A _good_ one, unlike the one you have now. When I asked you to help with the demonstration, I meant to help me show Lucy how to successfully pull the concept together. I certainly did not mean for you to flatten me and then step on me. Now, let me up. You're heavy. Can't breathe."

The Kentauri had the cheek to raise an eyebrow at me and ask, "Then, why are you still talking, Katerina Alambiel?"

I had wrapped both hands around his fetlock and attempted to lift his hoof high enough that I could slide out from under it...I might have managed to lift it a whole half a millimeter. I glared at him as he gave me a look full of blatant amusement before I finally answered, "Well, apparently, I can't help myself. But that's not the point."

There went the eyebrow again...what was it with Centaurs and raising their eyebrows at people? I mean every last one of the Centaurs I had met during my time at Cair Paravel would inevitably do it, it was almost like it was a genetic trait for them...but I digress. Oreius smirked slightly as he looked down at where I was still pinned to the ground, "No?"

I gave up on trying to move his hoof and lightly smacked his fetlock as I answered, "No. The point, Kentauri, is that you are heavy and I don't find being pinned to the ground as one of the most comfortable positions in the world. So, get off!"

He eased most of his weight off but kept his hoof resting on my abdomen just enough that I still couldn't get up as he peered down at me. "Are you yielding?"

I glared at him as I once again reminded myself that smacking the annoying Kentauri was not allowed...but I did have several pairs of shoes that I could chuck at his head...maybe they would actually make an impression on that thick skull of his. "Yes, but I only do so under duress."

Lucy giggled and Sherket looked amused as Oreius sheathed his sword, moved his hoof, and then hauled me to my feet. I dismissed Lucy with the reminder that she had to wear skirts for lessons the next day (if I had to suffer, then I was going to make sure someone else had to share in my suffering). Of course, Lucy did not find the wearing of dresses to training that much of a bother, so it was a bit pointless save for her improving her ability to defend herself not matter her wardrobe. I picked up my knives and slid them back into their hidden sheaths before I brushed at the spot on my cuirass where Oreius had put his hoof, I heard him mutter something about being overdramatic but I ignored him.

He rubbed the spot where I had kicked him as I walked past him with Sherket trailing me. "I think you might have left bruises, Katerina Alambiel."

Did he actually expect me to have any pity for him? I didn't think so. I rolled my eyes at him as I opened the solarium door, "Good. You deserve them...for several reasons." Of course, that one comment I made turned into a somewhat...spirited...discussion about what he had done to deserve the bruises. Okay, we were bickering...and it was bad enough that Sherket vacated the area quickly (though that might have had something to do with the fact that most people don't bicker with Centaurs...unless they are kin by blood, marriage, or close friends). Most of my side of the...discussion...had to do with how Oreius had _stepped_ on me, Oreius was more concerned with trying to figure out why I was irritated at him and defend himself at the same time, and anyone within range of our voices quickly left.

We both jumped as a new voice cut into our...discussion, "You both are bickering like six-year-olds. A lot of fuss with no real point." I spun around to see Tuulea watching us with a look of extreme disapproval tempered with just a hint of amusement. The Black Elder Nymph continued in a smooth voice that made me, at least, rather nervous as I remembered one of the little old ladies at the orphanage would use the same tactic and she had scared everyone from the boys getting ready to age out down when she used that tone. "Now since the two of you should both be old enough to _not_ argue as if you were six years of age, I expect that this little disagreement to be resolved by the time the two of you reach the halls where people actually are, so you do not scare off any more guards from their posts. I am certain that since the two of you are friends, you will be able to accomplish this task with ease. If you cannot, you will go your separate ways until _I_ have time to _deal_ with you personally, am I understood? Good."

With a very satisfied nod to herself (although I had a sneaking suspicion it wasn't solely due to the fact that she had managed to shut us both up), Tuulea disappeared down one of the halls. I realized Sherket must have been the one who cleared out most of the guards...she probably had told Tuulea too. I looked up at Oreius and whispered, "Did you know she was there before she..."

He shook his head as he answered just as quietly, "spoke? No, no I did not."

I paused then I whispered, "She scares me."

Oreius looked down at me then he quietly replied, "It's Tuulea, she scares everyone...at one point or another."

We looked at each other in silence for a moment, and then I had to resist the sudden impulse to laugh as Oreius started to chuckle. I grinned instead as I shook my head, "Well, she did have a point that our little discussion was probably the most ridiculous one we've had thus far."

He chuckled as he nodded then he gave me a bemused look, "That was a 'discussion', Katerina Alambiel?"

I raised an eyebrow at him (yes, I could do it to...it was not solely for Centaurs), "What else would it have been, Oreius?"

He opened his mouth, then he obviously decided the safer option (from Tuulea and I both) was to _not_ protest my choice of words as he moved on to a slightly different topic. "Does this mean you are no longer irritated? Or, must I go find some books and chocolate?"

I smiled brightly as I suppressed a laugh at his mention of the bribe that would always (well, almost always) work on me, "Since I already have a good book I'm working through and I shall find some chocolate on my own, you don't have to do that...today." He looked relieved then I continued in a soft, pleasant tone, "Nor am I that irritated with you anymore, however, if you ever step on me like that again, I shall be forced to throw every single pair of shoes I have, and probably some of the Queens' too, at your head as a matter of principle."

Both of his eyebrows shot up as he stared down at me in surprise before he slowly nodded, "Very well, I will not pin you that way again." He paused then gave me an amused look, "As a 'matter of principle', you say? And, that statement means you are not vindictive at all, is that right, Katerina?"

I smirked up at him, "Exactly, Kentauri." He snorted but didn't say anything else as he escorted me to the shortcut between the library and my quarters. I was probably going to pay for mouthing off and taunting him so much when we trained the next morning, but I admit that I enjoyed myself.

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I had just finished changing into fresh clothing and was about to let my hair down when I heard someone slam first the main doors to my quarters and then the sound of running feet before the door to my bedroom was opened then slammed shut again. I rolled my eyes at my reflection in the mirror and quickly shoved the two pins I had just pulled out back into my now very messy bun. I opened the bathroom door to see none other than King Edmund the Just pressing his ear against the door, apparently listening for whoever was chasing him. He jumped a little when I cleared my throat as I placed my hands on my hips and stared down at him while tapping one bare foot. "So, since you are disrupting my free time, I think I deserve to know why my free time is being disrupted, don't you agree?"

He ducked his head to hide a laugh before he carefully responded, "Well, I'm in here because...because I'm hiding from Martil."

Martil? Martil...I could recall hearing that name before, but no face came to mind. "And, Martil is who exactly?"

Edmund rolled his eyes at me, "Martil is my valet, Kat. You met him and Silvo both, remember? They're Fauns and they actually do not appreciate it when one King, umm, dumps oatmeal in every last one of the other King's footwear and adds honey to it." He paused then asked, "Can I hide here until all three of them calm down a bit?"

Oh yes, Silvo and Martil...I think I had made them nervous when we briefly (very, very briefly) met in Frostmoon as I never really saw them much after that first meeting. I smothered the urge to laugh when I heard what Edmund had done to Peter and then his plea to hide from the wrath of the valets and the High King in my quarters. I was definitely dealing with the eleven-year-old boy and not the Just King at that moment. Boys. I grinned at him and motioned for him to precede me into the parlor, "Fine, you can stay, but only for a little while."

He made himself comfortable on the settee and cast me a curious look when I walked by him, to which I gave another little grin as I started talking while working on stirring the flames to life in my fireplace (Oreius always made it look easy...actually everybody but me made it look easy...campfires, fire pits, bonfires, no problem but fireplaces...oy, I hate working with fireplaces). "So, oatmeal with a little honey on top in all his shoes, huh? Not bad, but it could have been better."

"Oh really, and what do you have in mind, Kat?"

I smirked, "Well, what comes to mind when you hear the words "syrup" and "flour"?"

Edmund's eyebrows rose then a mischievous gleam appeared in his dark eyes as we began to plot a rather elaborate prank for his brother. We spent most of the night collecting supplies and setting everything up. I was having even more fun than when I pulled the sugar and salt prank on Oreius and the other officers, and I expected the reaction to be even more impressive for this new prank of Edmund's and mine. It turned out that I was right about the reaction...it was just we had made a slight miscalculation in the mechanics of carrying out our prank, so it didn't quite go according to plan.

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**A/N: Please Read and Review! So, this was Part One of the infamous Flour Incident! Hopefully y'all enjoyed it! I hope to have Part Two up no later than Friday or Saturday. There are three planned chapters left including the epilogue, so this is the last official call for any requests concerning chapters/scenes you would like to see. If you have any requests concerning POV for the next chapter, let me know in your review. Again apologies for the earlier confusion and delay for this chapter. Click the little review button below and let me know what y'all thought about this chapter and your guesses as to what exactly went wrong with Katerina and Edmund's prank on Peter.**


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.

Summary: Not all shields look as we expected... Not all shields are physical...

Chapter Twelve

33 Nor'Wind 1001

We were going to die. Well, considering my partner in crime was a King and far less likely to be killed, _I_ was going to die. That was not how my cohort and I had intended to start the morning. It was barely sixth hour and there was a strong possibility that I would not live to see it become half-six. I hate Murphy...the problem was he hated me too.

Admittedly, there was the small matter that we probably deserved our fate...or at least some form of punishment. But, it wasn't so bad that they needed to kill us...me, of course, telling them that was not going to help the situation at all. It's amazing how one little miscalculation in an otherwise brilliant plan could lead to impending injury and the strong possibility of death if they caught us too soon. Now, the thing to understand is Narnians as a whole enjoy a good prank or joke...actually, some of them _are_ a good joke. I had experienced this firsthand when I pulled a prank on Oreius and the senior officers four days earlier on Firstday when I swapped out the sugar for the salt in their refreshments with the knowledge of Sherket and some highly amused army cooks. However, it seemed there was at least one place in Cair Paravel that we should not have used for the setting of our prank on Peter.

For some reason I could no longer recall, after a long night of planning and collecting supplies, Edmund and I had reached the decision that we should set the prank up in the armory. Peter was our target and we wanted to make sure he was the one caught in the prank, so we hung a light trough filled to the brim with syrup over the entrance into the main room of the armory with a large tarp full of flour strung directly above it. In order to pull this prank off, we had to control it manually otherwise the syrup and flour could have landed on anyone like someone particularly dangerous to our health (like any of the officers in the army). It was a rather elaborate and ambitious prank since we were only targeting one person with it. That combined with little sleep and setting everything up by candlelight (I was the tallest so I was the one hanging things and pouring the syrup into the trough after it was hung while balancing on a somewhat shaky ladder), not to mention the fact that we chose to do it in the armory of all places, probably contributed to the fact that I made a slight miscalculation regarding the full extent of the impact this prank would have overall.

We finished setting everything up two hours before we were scheduled to show up in the armory for training, so whether Edmund got any sleep that night...morning...or not, I don't know. But, I caught a hour-long nap before I implemented the first phase of our prank, which was make the target think everything was normal. For me, that meant I quickly dressed in a tunic and skirt and pulled on my boots before I hurried out of the main palace and headed for the armory. Edmund was not a morning person so I'm not sure why Peter didn't suspect anything when Edmund dragged him out of bed with the order to hurry up and get dressed for training (maybe he thought he was having a strange dream). I had just finished pulling on my leather jerkin and fastening my cuirass over it when Edmund skidded into the armory nearly running over the weapons rack the ropes leading to our prank were tied to, but thankfully he managed to stop before disaster struck. I gave him a questioning look and he nodded before he started pulling on his armor. It was nearly six in the morning when I helped Edmund finish putting on his armor and we heard the sound of boots approaching the armory. I glanced at Edmund to see if he still wanted to go through with the prank (I always check with co-conspirators on team pranks) and he resolutely unwound the ropes from the weapons rack, which I took as a sign he was more than willing to prank Peter as soon as he stepped through the door.

Peter appeared in the entrance and Edmund jerked hard on the ropes. Our prank worked perfectly as gallons of syrup were abruptly dumped on the unsuspecting High King and topped off with a huge cloud of flour. Now, the cloud of flour would be the first miscalculation we had made because the flour not only covered the syrup but it went everywhere to the point that Edmund had flour on his legs and I had a good dusting on my skirt even though we were standing on the opposite side of the armory. We were still pleased with the results...until the cloud of flour finally dissipated and we saw that Peter was not the only standing in the entrance to the armory. I had been looking at Edmund when the flour cloud settled so the first clue I had that something had gone wrong was when he gasped as his eyes flew wide. I turned around and clapped both hands over my mouth as I saw Peter had indeed been covered in syrup and flour as we planned but standing on either side of him were two Centaurs who both had the front half of their bodies covered in syrup and flour. Actually, the flour dusted the entirety of their bodies. I looked over Peter's bowed head and saw Cletus and Sherket (they had some flour coating their fronts too) watching in stunned silence...which meant the two Centaurs had to be...Oreius and Ardon. Oh, we were so dead.

Edmund and I stared in silence as the three flour-covered warriors (it would have been hilarious except for one little thing...did I mention we were going to die?) finally caught sight of us. I never thought being glared at by someone who had been coated in syrup and flour would be terrifying, but at that moment, I couldn't think of anything _more_ terrifying than the three of them. An angry hiss came from Peter while Ardon and Oreius didn't make a sound just pinned us in place with their glares of doom as all three took a single step forward, which prompted my flight or fight instincts to take the fore. I grabbed Edmund by the back of his tabard, pulled him in front of me, and then shoved him ahead of me as we both sprinted for the rear archway that lead to the training yard directly behind the armory.

We were going to die and it wasn't even half past six in the morning yet. "Edmund! Katerina! You come back here!" Peter sounded absolutely furious as we ignored him and kept running for the other small archway connecting the main training yard with a series of other training yards. I was less concerned about Peter than I was about the two Centaurs who still hadn't said a word. It was not good that they still hadn't said anything because that meant they were beyond furious (which equals dead Katerina Alambiel in this particular instance). Edmund and I slid to a halt as Ardon cut us off from the archway right before we made our escape...that wasn't good. Oreius and Peter started to close in on us with Ardon joining them...we were being advanced on by three warriors covered in a mix of syrup and flour, I should not have been intimidated (but I was). We backed up until our retreat was cut off by a trio of sealed water barrels, Edmund gulped nervously while I tried to think of a way out of our predicament. They were a scant seven feet away when I hit upon an absolutely insane idea, I grabbed Edmund by the neck of his chain mail and bodily hauled him after me as I leaped up and over the water barrels (thank God he was such a skinny eleven-year-old otherwise I never would have been able to pull it off).

We sprinted back up the length of the courtyard, but the thundering hooves behind us told me that any and all patience the Centaurs had was now completely gone. I grabbed Edmund's arm and dove to the left, which jerked him out of Oreius' path right before the irate General could grab hold of him. Unfortunately, we only managed to avoid capture for another two minutes and then we were trapped against the rear wall of the training yard with no hope of escape. Well, we were trapped and we were either going to die or we were going to wish that they had been kind enough to kill us, but at least I wasn't having to face this alone. Peter seemed to be the spokesman for the group as he growled, "Explain."

I opened my mouth to try to explain the reasoning behind our prank (I was sure we had at least one...I just couldn't think of any) when Edmund gulped then pointed at me, "It was all Kat's idea." Traitor.

I looked from them to him and shook my head, "It was not _all_ my idea, Edmund. You helped too."

He glanced at me, "No, not with the planning just the execution." Why, why out of all the words he could have used, did he have to pick that one?

We froze as Ardon suddenly spoke in a dangerously soft tone, "A rather appropriate choice of words, Sir Edmund How. Do you not agree, General?"

Oreius answered in the same deadly soft tone, "Indeed." He glared at us, and then he abruptly turned away with Peter falling beside him as he walked back across the training yard. "Bring them to the armory and make sure they do not have the opportunity to slip away."

Ardon followed the order by grabbing the both of us by the collar and lifting us off the ground as he turned around to head for the armory. He didn't exactly drag us there, but my feet only touched the ground every other step and I was taller than Edmund (okay, we were being dragged to our execution). I was certain that Ardon left huge floury handprints when he finally set us down just inside the armory, but I wasn't about to complain since Oreius was waiting there with such a look that I couldn't find the words to describe it save to say it summed up all the fury and disbelief I could almost feel radiating off of him. I was going to die. Oreius stared at us in silence then he spoke a single word, "Why?"

That was a very, very good question and I really wished that I had a very, very good answer or just a good one or any answer. But I didn't, so I did what I usually did when faced with a question that I had no answer to...I answered with a question. "Why what exactly?"

I almost expected the flour and syrup to bake from the heat of look of absolute fury Oreius graced me with and I admit to being impressed when he answered in a remarkably calm tone, if a bit terse. "Why exactly did you two decided to coat my armory in this mess of syrup and flour? What possessed you to do this? I knew you acted insane at times, Katerina Alambiel, but this..._this_ is utter lunacy. Well, have you no answer?"

No, I didn't. I must have been silent too long because Oreius suddenly stepped closer until he was looming over Edmund and I, "Look at my armory. Both of you, look." If there's a large and extremely furious Centaur looming over you, you did what he said. My eyes widened slightly as I took in the full effect of our prank, the entire armory (including every piece of armor and equipment..._every last piece_) was coated in flour and the front was covered in a combination of syrup and flour while the tarp and trough we had used dangled above the main entrance with remnants of syrup still dripping from the trough. Well, when we miscalculated, we really miscalculated (I hate Murphy). I tilted my head back to meet Oreius' gaze and I opened my mouth to explain or try to anyway, and to my extreme shock and slight horror, I didn't manage to say a word. I laughed instead...I, Katerina Alambiel, someone who had not laughed out loud in...well, never, started to laugh. And, it wasn't a quiet laugh either, it was a full, clear laugh of the kind that came from deep down inside a person. There's a saying in Narnia that no one laughs at a Centaur...oh, how I wished that wasn't true to an extent because then I would have been in less trouble.

I didn't know who was more shocked, the four males or myself, all I knew was I had started laughing and I couldn't stop. I clapped both hands over my mouth and finally managed to muffle the sound though I couldn't quite stop my shoulders from shaking with the now repressed laughter still coursing through me. I glanced at Oreius, Ardon, and Peter covered in syrup and flour once I thought I had the laughter under control, only to instantly dissolve into more laughter. I finally had to drop my gaze to study floury floor at my boots (also floury) in order to regain complete control (I think they were all of the opinion that I had finally lost the last remnants of my sanity, but I hadn't...it was close though). Nevertheless, I didn't (couldn't) look up when Oreius started talking again in the same measured tone of carefully suppressed fury (apparently, he was going to ignore my bout of laughter for now, which was fine by me). "Since Katerina Alambiel seems to be having difficulty answering, perhaps you, Sir Edmund How, might enlighten me as to why my armory is covered in flour and syrup."

I carefully turned my head so I could look at Edmund while avoiding even a glance at the other three as the poor boy hedged slightly, probably because facing our executioners made last night's brilliant plan seem rather...less than brilliant. "Well, we did this in order to prank Peter and-"

Peter cut off Edmund's explanation as he stepped up to his brother and leveled a floury glare (thank God, I didn't laugh) at him. "Wait a minute, you mean to say that this entire mess was because you wanted to prank me again? Wasn't putting oatmeal and honey in my shoes yesterday enough?"

I coughed (partially to force myself not to laugh and partially to call some attention back to me) then I resolutely met Peter's gaze. "Actually, Peter, this was not the intended result...for the most part. See, what we planned was for you to be covered in, um, all of this...however, upon examining the actual extent of the results of our prank, it would appear that we...made several...miscalculations in our plan."

I paused when both Centaurs echoed in that deadly soft tone (apparently they didn't have any other tone when covered in flour and syrup), "Miscalculations?"

I didn't dare look at them (if I started laughing again, I would be flattened to begin with and who knew what it would end with), so I just nodded while looking at Edmund. "Yes, such as the syrup and flour landing on...people other than just Peter...and on everything else. We might have been a tad enthusiastic when we calculated how much of each item we should use... And, the location was, well, we had a reason for pulling the prank in the armory...I just can't seem to recall what it was exactly. So, yes, we made several miscalculations for this particular prank."

The absurd urge to laugh nearly overwhelmed me again so I dropped my eyes to the floor once again right before Oreius nearly blew a gasket (I had the sudden image of steam coming off him and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing). "Miscalculations would imply that you actually thought this through, which neither one of you did. Miscalculations also imply that your prank only got a little out of hand, that it caused a small mess. Look at what you did to my armory! This is not a miscalculation or a small mess, it is a disaster!"

I couldn't stop myself, I peeked at them and asked, "Would it help if we told you we were sorry?" Utter silence was the only reply as a quick glance up confirmed that all three of them were struggling to resist the urge to do something to me like strangulation. I quietly thanked God that I hadn't given in to the impulse to tell them that we were too young to die as I shifted a little closer to Edmund and muttered, "I was afraid you would say that."

Edmund didn't say a word as he looked at our three angry companions (Oreius' anger actually intimidated him), but I was still staring at the floor in the concentrated effort to not give in to the dratted urge to laugh (Oreius may have been angry but he was also coated in syrup and flour...I hadn't remained intimidated long). Oreius moved to stand in front of me so I was now staring at the space between my boots and his hooves, "Katerina Alambiel, look at me...now." I took a breath before I slowly raised my head and looked up to meet Oreius' still furious gaze (okay, I was still ever so slightly intimidated by him). To my credit, I did not laugh as Oreius stared down at me, "You seem to find this situation rather amusing, so I assume you will enjoy cleaning up this _miscalculation_ as well. You and Sir How will clean every piece of armor and equipment and every inch of the armory until you have restored my armory to the condition it was in before the two of you arbitrarily decided to use it as the setting for your prank. You will not leave until this done. Furthermore, _no one_ is to use my armory to play pranks on _anyone_ for the next five years. I forbid it! Is that understood?"

Edmund immediately answered to the affirmative, but I couldn't speak for fear of laughing. Oreius had no sympathy as he suddenly leaned in close and whispered, "Do you understand, Katerina Alambiel?"

I cleared my throat before I answered with a rather strangled "Yes, Oreius." I was nearly nose-to-nose with a Centaur General who was covered in syrup and flour...I was fortunate that I managed to answer at all.

Oreius gave me an indecipherable look (probably due to all the flour and syrup), "What possessed you to do this, Katerina?"

Oh, how I wished I knew the answer to that question. I bit my lip and hedged a little as I replied with another question. "Do you really want me to answer that with your temper the way it is at the moment?"

Apparently, he decided I had a point (or that I was too insane to bother talking to anymore) because Oreius didn't reply, instead he turned to Peter and Edmund. "You are dismissed, Sir Wolfsbane. Sir How, you and Katerina Alambiel will be under the supervision of Captain Cletus until you have finished cleaning my armory."

After that, Oreius, Ardon, and Peter walked (well, actually it was more of a stalk with a hint of laugh and die) out of the armory, leaving Edmund and I standing in the middle of the syrup and flour-covered armory. We were still standing there in silence when Cletus (now devoid of flour) entered the armory just long enough to oversee two Fauns deliver our cleaning supplies, which included water, soap, cloths, polish... Did I mention that when Oreius said we had to clean every piece of armor and equipment, he meant _every last piece_? I looked around the armory again then resigned myself to a very, very long day of cleaning and polishing. Well, at least, they didn't kill us.

We took off our own armor and carefully placed everything just outside the range of the flour before we set to work. I glanced at Edmund as I lowered the trough to the ground, "I told you we should have just used the two buckets."

He rolled his eyes at me as he moved the trough out of the way. "You only suggested that when we were going to do this in Peter's and mine room. Once we decided to move it to the armory, you were more than happy to go along with more of both the syrup and the flour. Why did we think the armory would be a good choice, Kat?"

I unhooked the tarp and dropped it down to him, "I can't remember, but I say we blame the coffee."

He tilted his head, "Too much?"

I smirked, "I was thinking more along the lines of too little." He laughed at that and then we went back to working in silence. After about twenty minutes, I broke the silence. "You know, Edmund, this wouldn't have been so bad if we had managed to leave out the E.F.C."

Edmund glanced up from where he was scrubbing at a particularly stubborn patch of syrup and flour, "E.F.C.?"

I nodded as I moved a large shield to the side, "Extremely Furious Centaurs."

He laughed then shook his head, "Might I suggest you avoid explaining what E.F.C. stands for to anyone who could be included in that description? And, there was one other thing we could have left out..." He trailed off as he gestured wordlessly at the room around us and I had to admit he had a point.

Oreius had been right when he referred to the armory as a disaster...actually it was more along the lines of looking like a flour apocalypse had occurred in there. Edmund and I had to put a lot of elbow grease into just cleaning the floor of the armory, especially where the syrup was mixed with the flour. We worked it out where we would take shifts of cleaning the floor and walls then swap with whichever one of us was scraping, washing, and polishing the armor and equipment. Cletus came in twice that morning, once to check our progress and deliver some coffee (God bless that Faun because I desperately needed it) and then the second time was to escort some Fauns who were burdened with the flour and syrup-covered armor and equipment belonging to one General and one Captain (Peter hadn't been wearing armor...but we still had to clean it). The rest of the time, the Faun Captain remained outside the armory playing on his panpipe in the small alcove leading to the main courtyard (it was the last day of January so there's a sign of just how big a mess the armory was that Cletus preferred sitting by a brazier in the alcove than to come inside). Well, there were worse things to work to than a Faun playing tunes on the panpipe...like the shouts of a couple of E.F.C.

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Katerina Alambiel was a menace to herself, to other people, to me, and to my armory. By the Lion, I couldn't figure out how she managed to cause so much chaos that she could shut down training for not only the Kings and herself, but for the majority of the army as well. I also couldn't figure out why she chose to use the armory for her prank or how she even convinced Edmund to go along with such an insane plan. I knew when I met her that she was probably insane to some extent; however, this debacle proved she was capable of such insanity that I didn't know how she managed to act like a sane being even part of the time. How had King Edmund described her last Sixthday? As brilliant and a "brick" but completely insane. I was not completely sure what the Kings meant when they described people as a "brick" but from the tone and context, I gathered that they meant the person in question was good and dependable. I supposed King Edmund's description was accurate enough, though at that moment, I was more inclined to leave off everything save that Katerina Alambiel was completely insane and more infuriating than any other being I had met.

Fortunately, for Katerina, I had chosen to act as one of her shields, to be her friend and protector as far as she would allow. Unfortunately, for me, that meant I could not give in to the almost overwhelming urge to strangle her I had had when facing her in the armory. A knock on my door pulled me from my musings on whether it would be worth risking Alithia's anger in order to toss the insane little pest into the Eastern Sea just long enough to see if the cold would help her regain her Aslan-given common sense and then I would pull her out. I opened the door and watched as Tuulea swept in with Stonebrook trailing his wife with a faintly amused look as she began without preamble, "Oreius, I want to talk to you about Katerina Alambiel."

I frowned as I watched the Black Elder Nymph pacing the length of the room, "What has she done now? Burned down the armory?"

Stonebrook smirked at my tone while Tuulea laughed and said, "Come now, Oreius, you cannot say such a thing about her. Besides, how could she burn down the armory when it is made of stone?"

Typically, I would not worry overmuch about the trouble Katerina Alambiel could get in to or cause, but after the events of that morning... I flicked my tail in irritation and exasperation as I retorted, "I have no idea _how_ she would manage it, Tuulea, but I also have no doubt that somehow _she_ would manage to do it...and it would all occur as the result of a _miscalculation_."

Tuulea seemed to find my words vastly amusing as she laughed, "Was it really so bad?"

I scowled, not so much at Tuulea's amusement, but at the memory of that little pest and what she had managed to do to my armory. I carefully measured my tone to avoid sounding irritated as I regarded the Nymph, "Have you seen what she did to my armory with the help of Sir Edmund How?"

Stonebrook coughed and I knew he had while Tuulea grinned expectantly as she replied, "No, but I am under the impression that it was quite a mess, no?"

I grimaced, "No, Tuulea, it was not quite a mess. It was a disaster."

Tuulea laughed again, "Has our Katerina Alambiel gotten under your skin, Oreius?"

I glared at the Nymph, "Katerina Alambiel has been an annoying, insane, and cheeky little pest for over a week, Tuulea. Yes, she is trying my patience." At the memory of everything she had accomplished just that morn, I glanced up at the ceiling and prayed for Aslan to give me more patience to deal with the little pest.

Tuulea was enjoying the conversation far too much as she asked, "I have been told that you banned pranks from the armory for five years, so why did you not make it a lifetime ban instead?"

I shook my head, "I made the ban for only five years because any longer and, not only would Katerina Alambiel unintentionally break the ban, but I have no doubt that she would break it in such a way that the disaster from this morn would seem a...a child's game by comparison. As it is, I am not certain if she and the Kings will be able to resist using my armory for their pranks the full five years." I paused then looked from Stonebrook to Tuulea, "I thought you wished to speak about Katerina Alambiel and I had the impression it was about something other than what happened this morn."

Tuulea glanced at Stonebrook before she slanted a look at me, "I am curious about something. With as much time as you spend in Katerina Alambiel's company, has she ever reminded you of someone you knew?"

I frowned slightly before shaking my head, "Cheeky little pest that she is, Tuulea, I cannot say that she reminds me of anyone here in Narnia. Moreover, since she is from the same world as the Kings and Queens, I do not see how she could resemble anyone from Narnia save by chance. Why do you ask?"

Tuulea opened her mouth to answer but stopped when Stonebrook spoke, "Remember your words from earlier, Tuulea."

I raised an eyebrow as Tuulea graced her husband with one of the looks she used to quell unruly patients in her days as the foremost healer of my tribe and of Narnia...actually, she was fond of using that look on anyone she was less than pleased with from her sons to Katerina and myself. However, it was unusual for her to give that look to Stonebrook and I wondered what they knew that I did not. Still, I was not overly concerned since I could trust these two elders of the tribe to inform me of anything that would require my attention if I did not already know about it. Tuulea turned back to me and smiled, "I merely wondered because I find she reminds me of a friend of mine, but you wouldn't know her as she died a handful of years before you born. However, as it has been pointed out, the reminder is probably the result of odd happenstance. Are you going to join the officers for the evening meal? Reassure them that Narnia's General truly has not disappeared because he trampled one of his students due to that student's amazing lack of sense."

I pinched the bridge of my nose as I heaved a sigh...the ability of soldiers to create rumors still amazed me even after being one for most of my life, "Yes, I will be there. And, I would never trample the cheeky little pest. I would merely be tempted to strangle her during moments such as the one this morn...or toss her into the Eastern Sea, but never trample."

Stonebrook smirked at my dry tone and Tuulea laughed before they left, probably so Tuulea could go find their sons and pester them about something. When I made my way to dine with the officers and whichever soldiers were present at the time, which included Ardon and Alithia, I knew due to Cletus' absence that the initial punishment handed to Sir Edmund How and Katerina Alambiel was still being served. My presence seemed to still the more ridiculous rumors, but I did not want to know what new rumors sprang to life when the cooks ended the meal with a cake and I found myself glaring at it before I left the hall with a scowling Ardon following in my wake, much to the amusement of his wife.

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I had a very short list of items I refused to use for my pranks, but that list increased by one after spending all day and most of the night scraping, scrubbing, rinsing, and polishing every last inch of the armory including all of the armor and equipment. I added syrup to the list, although it was also the only one with the stipulation that I would use it for a prank if, and only if, it was in small controllable amounts that did not end up seeping into every corner and under every piece of heavy furniture or equipment (syrup is too good a prank item to stop using it completely). Edmund and I worked together until I noticed he was struggling to keep his eyes open as we got closer to midnight (Cletus had been kind enough to inform us that we were closing in on midnight when he gave us some more coffee about five hours after we paused to eat dinner). I knew he was tired when I finally managed to persuade him to just go to bed at one in the morning with the argument that I could finish up the last bit of polishing and cleaning on my own. Captain Cletus was either tired or just bored as he left me to Lieutenant Gemon's supervision shortly after Edmund had retired.

We had managed to clean the floors and walls (and the ceiling in one spot...I still don't know how syrup and flour got up there) of the armory, in addition to cleaning and polishing most of the armor and equipment, so it was more putting everything back that was left to be done. One way or another I intended to have every piece back in place by the time training was supposed to start on Sixthday. I took a swig of my coffee (which was lukewarm at best and awful at worst) then grabbed the polish and set to work on the last pieces of armor and equipment, which happened to belong to the somewhat irritated Kentauri (okay, okay, I knew he was furious...I just hoped he would be less furious for training otherwise I would die frequently and not always swiftly). It was very late (or very early depending on your view) when I finally finished putting Oreius' armory back the way I had found it. I turned around and nodded to myself as I looked over the room, the only things that stuck out a tiny bit was the presence of Oreius and Ardon's armor and equipment which had been carefully hung in two empty storage lockers until their respective owners fetched them, aside from that everything was perfect and exactly in its place.

I glanced down at my hands and grimaced at their red, chapped appearance...not to mention the stench of the polish that was clinging not only to my hands, but also to my clothes. I was fairly certain that my clothes were beyond rescue between the polish stains and smell and the random splashes of syrup and flour (and that had been one of my nicer tunics and skirts). Well, at least, I would soon be free of the armory...and I never wanted to spend that much time in the armory or any other room (except the library) again. I heard the door to the armory open and the click of hooves entering the room. I grinned to myself as I waved a hand at the wall in front of me and spoke without turning around, "Well, Lieutenant Gemon, I think even Oreius will be impressed with this accomplishment because this room now looks exactly the way it should, don't you agree?"

I was tired and running almost solely on coffee, but I should have known better than to let someone enter the room behind me without once checking to confirm it was who I assumed it was. I couldn't keep from tensing when I heard only silence before several more pairs of hooves entered the armory, and I had a bad feeling that none of those hooves belonged to Lieutenant Gemon. I forced myself to hide my rising unease before I casually turned around and was confronted by five soldiers, three Satyrs and two Fauns. I froze as I recognized two of the Satyrs and both Fauns as the same ones who had confronted me in the training yard just over two months beforehand in Stormfall, including the Satyr Laurus who glared at me. The third Satyr was older and, after a few moments, I realized he was one of the captains who objected to my presence in the Cair and blamed me for Alaois' demotion, but his name escaped me. The captain glared at me and then he walked around us to the far corner of the armory and turned his back...I had a very bad feeling about what was going to happen next and prayed that Lieutenant Gemon had let someone know who replaced him.

I clenched my hands and slowly retreated as Laurus and his fellow soldiers (bullies the lot of them) advanced on me. They were being incredibly bold compared to the last time, but still cautious enough that I could tell they were trying to push me into reacting so their actions would be justified. It finally sunk into my tired mind that they must have assumed I no longer held the favored protection of the royals due to the incident earlier today...no, it was yesterday when I angered Oreius. I clenched my hands tighter until I could feel my nails digging into my palms as I resisted the urge to fight my way free as they closed in around me until they were almost brushing against me. I felt the Faun behind me move to the side and then Laurus reached out to touch my shoulder when everyone froze as deep growls suddenly rumbled through the armory. I slowly unclenched my hands as the four soldiers (bullies) stepped back from me and turned to face the source of the growls with almost as much unwillingness as they had shown when Oreius and Ardon caught them last time.

The Faun in front of me stepped away from Laurus and stared at the floor in clear shame. I relaxed my stance completely when I saw the source of the growls were none other than Sherket, Sefu, Heru, and Ptah. Sherket looked at me for a brief instant and then she turned her intense amber gaze on the mostly cowed hooligans, "Did you not learn from the example set by Alaois? Or, from the warning given to you by the General and by Captain Ardon? Leave Katerina Alambiel alone or you will become the next example for why soldiers should not forget the code of conduct towards guests. Now, report to the posts assigned to you for the day." Sherket waited until the four soldiers had left, Laurus reluctantly in the rear, and then she glared at the Satyr Captain, "Just because your cousin's nephew was disciplined for his actions, Pyrrhos, that hardly gives you the right to _overlook_ such behavior."

Ah, yes, that was his name...Pyrrhos gave Sherket a rather baleful look but said nothing before he too left the armory. Why did Murphy enjoy sending irritable Satyrs to make my life so..._fun_? I decided I was too tired to contemplate the various ways Murphy liked to torture me with his law and just sighed. Sherket looked up at me then she looked around the armory, "I believe you have finished the task assigned to you by General Oreius. And, I see no reason for you to remain here any longer. Ptah will escort you back to your chambers, so you don't get lost because you are too tired to remember which turns to take. Good night, Katerina."

I wasn't about to argue with a Leopard, for one thing I was too tired (coffee could only keep a person going for so long…even me). I followed the big Cats out of the armory, only the cold bite of the night/early morning air really helped to keep from falling asleep on my feet (when my energy dropped, it took next to nothing for me to fall asleep...mid-conversation or even mid-walk). Once we reached the main palace, Sherket disappeared with Heru and Sefu but Ptah stuck close to me as we walked towards my rooms...so close that he intentionally kept bumping against me. When we finally reached my rooms, I had the vague feeling that Ptah was relieved (my essentially sleep-walking my way through the palace seemed to stress him just a little) while I suddenly realized I was nowhere close to being able to catch up on the sleep I had missed...because I was in desperate need of a bath. It took a total of two baths before I finally got clean, and I had some sympathy for what Peter, Ardon, and Oreius had gone through...not as much as I could have had (I'm not very sympathetic when half-asleep). I was dead to the world the moment I crawled into bed until oh about ninth hour...at night (I had been up since Fourthday with only an hour-long nap and so much coffee that I might have bled the stuff if I had cut myself that day, I had a lot of sleep to catch up on).

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I had considered not going to the solarium next to the library, but I ultimately decided that I did need to speak with Katerina Alambiel that night. Sherket had informed me of the altercation that had nearly taken place in the armory and, apparently, Ptah had chosen to stand guard outside Katerina's door all day to make sure she was not disturbed. I wondered if she realized yet how many of us were willing to act as her shields in one way or another, but perhaps the better question was how long would it take before she finally allowed us to act the part of her shields. I opened the door to the solarium and for a moment I thought no one was in there, but then I heard a slight noise and I looked up. She had completely lost her mind was the only conclusion I could draw when I saw Katerina Alambiel perched on the long shelf running along the top of the wall intended for the comfort of tree dwellers, Birds, and Cats. I raised an eyebrow, "What are you doing up there?"

"Well, I decided I should start out up here because Tuulea said that you said you were contemplating strangling me and if you can't reach me then you can't do something that you and, more importantly, I would regret." I smirked and she tilted her head, "Does that look mean you aren't going to strangle me, Kentauri?"

The things she chose to focus on... I rolled my eyes and walked over to the large fireplace. "Not tonight, Katerina Alambiel. So, you can get down now." I paused and glanced over my shoulder, "You can get down from there without breaking something, right?" She stuck her tongue out at me and leaped down to land in a crouch. I gave her an amused look before I quickly stirred the fire to life while she wandered around behind me.

For a while, we spoke on simple matters then I broached the topic I needed an answer to the most, "Sherket told me about this morn. What say you on the matter?" I chose not to inform her of how vehemently Sherket had lodged her complaint on what had happened.

Katerina glanced away from me to watch the flames before she moved from her chair to sit on the rug and leaned back against it with a sigh. "I say that they are entitled to their opinions and I will not ask you to do anything about it. I shall simply take steps to avoid them in the future." She paused then looked at me with the eyes of a world-weary soul who had seen too much as she spoke in a much softer tone than before, "Tell me, Oreius, when does it ever help to force people to change their opinions? I have always found it did more harm than good. Besides, I'd rather know who stands where than to be forced to guess who is civil or even friendly because they are forced or they just want something from me while in truth they whisper behind me and think I do not eventually find out what they truly think one way or another. I see no reason to force the issue anymore than it already has been. Let them keep their opinions that I am a witch or evil or scheming after whatnot. I shall live my life and let my actions prove my words. And, if they still refuse to see the truth, so be it."

In an instant, she had reminded me of why I was intrigued by her views of the world. Yes, she would act in a manner that could be called insane and tried my patience. However, she also held an air of wisdom and knowledge of the light and darkness present in the world that was normally found with the wisest of elders...or a soldier who had seen so much that they understood what civilians and green troops rarely did even if it gave them a somewhat cynical view of other people. I wished she would let me know what exactly had caused her to achieve such an outlook, but that would come with time and I had promised not to push her on the matter. The fact that she had started to reveal pieces of her past and certain secrets became more significant whenever I remembered the fact that her eyes held the secrets of a soul who had endured something to make her world-weary and cynical yet she still chose to trust. I had asked much more of her than I had first realized when I requested the boon from her.

I inclined my head in silent acquiescence and directed our conversation to something lighter, "I am curious, Katerina Alambiel, if you are so clever to plan out and attempt many coups, why have you never taken over a government?"

She smiled and the weariness disappeared from her eyes to be replaced with mischievous laughter, "And, how do you know I have not, Kentauri? Don't answer that, it was rhetorical. You see, my dear Kentauri, I am slightly evil but I am not really all that ambitious. So, I have contemplated the whole overthrowing governments and world domination path, but the amount of work it would take to maintain such a plan makes me tired just thinking about it. I'm too lazy to go through with such a thing, so someone else will have to conquer the world."

I couldn't help chuckling at her explanation, "Katerina Alambiel, I thought I already told you that you are not evil." She shrugged and stretched her bare feet towards the fire as I took the opportunity to tease her by adding, "Not to mention, if you tried to overthrow Narnia or conquer the world, I shall take measures to remind you why you don't want to put the effort into such an endeavor starting with tossing you into the Eastern Sea."

She gave me a look then grinned, "That would be effective...or you could just give me chocolate and a book, less chance of Alithia getting mad at you that way. Not to mention, less chance of me getting mad at you." She paused then turned fully towards me, "Speaking of Alithia, is it true that you glared at a cake last night?"

I forced myself to give her a stern look, "Yes, I glared but you know very well why I would be inclined to glare at anything whose ingredients include flour last night."

She was clearly fighting the urge to laugh as she suddenly couldn't look me in the eyes anymore. But, once she had regained her composure, she turned back to me and asked, "Training on Firstday will be very...long, won't it?"

I kept my face impassive as I warned, "Training will be very _long_ for the rest of Snowbrice and Lenisgale and possibly Quickening if you keep reminding me about an incident I found extremely irritating, understand you me, Katerina Alambiel?"

Her eyes widened slightly and she quickly nodded, but then she gave me a mischievous glance. "Oreius, does Narnia have any catapults?"

I did not even want to know why she was asking that question, all I did was thank Aslan that Narnia did _not _have any catapults because only He knew what chaos she would manage to cause with such devices. The look on my face must have said what I was thinking because Katerina covered her mouth and her entire body shook with the force of her silent laughter. I shook my head as I dryly commented, "You are insane and you are going to end up taking an unplanned swim in the Eastern Sea if you keep this up."

Eventually, our talk turned to other things until she finally decided to call it a night though I suspected she spent the rest of the night reading one of the books she had borrowed from the library. I didn't always know what to expect from Katerina Alambiel and, at times, such as when she caused the disaster she later dubbed the 'flour incident,' I found her to be an infuriating, annoying, cheeky little pest. However, I also found her to have a good heart and she was someone I gladly counted among my close friends while I willingly stood as one of her shields as much as she would allow.

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**A/N: Please Read and Review! All right, I finally managed to get this chapter up and it was a challenge so I hope you liked it and that the flour incident lived up to your expectations. There are only two chapters left in Shields, next up is the Valentine's Day chapter requested by Lady Firewing. I hope to have it up in a week or maybe less. For those of you who are interested in the future relationship between Katerina and Oreius, there is a poll on my profile where you can vote and let me know what y'all think should happen. Click the little review button below and let me know what y'all thought about this chapter, the story as a whole, and what else you would like to see in future stories.**


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.

Summary: Not all shields look as we expected... Not all shields are physical...

A/N: After many delays and six days of writing, here is the Valentine's Day chapter as requested by Lady Firewing. I hope it lives up to your expectations. To cut down on confusion, the first section is from Katerina's POV and the last two sections are from Oreius' POV. Enjoy!

Chapter Thirteen

14 Snowbrice 1001

How was it that I could be in a place where Hallmark (or any other greeting card regurgitating nightmare, for that matter) did not exist and I still couldn't escape the most ridiculous and over-commercialized fake holiday of all time? Honestly, I could hardly believe what I was hearing yesterday afternoon when Susan, Lucy, and Tuulea all ambushed me after I had returned from training (two weeks and Oreius was only just finishing the regiment of intensified training he had subjected Edmund and myself to as punishment for the flour incident). While they were in the midst of hunting through the formal (and I mean the complicated formal not the simple designs in more formal fabrics) dresses, I was informed that Narnian tradition dictated there was to be a ball in celebration of Sweethearts' Day (Valentine's Day in all but name) and they wanted to me to show up...oh joy. I had made a rather half-hearted series of protests (Lucy gave me the puppy dog look throughout them) and then...I caved into agreeing to consider going to the ball, which was all the overeager trio needed for an excuse to continue picking out the "perfect gown" while they quickly rehashed what happened at the Sweethearts' Day ball. I admit to tuning them out after a bit, but I still got the main gist of it all, which was the day was an opportunity for established sweethearts to enjoy themselves, new sweethearts to relish the changes (when Tuulea said that I couldn't help thinking about food...just something about the word 'relish'), and for those who desire to be your sweetheart to buck up and ask you to the ball. At least, I was safe from the last, unless some idiot lost a bet or just his mind and tried to ask me to be his sweetheart for the ball. Fortunately, one did not actually have to have a date to attend the ball (it's a party and Narnians _love_ parties, feasts, celebrations, etc., etc.), which was the only reason I was even considering going for a little bit at least or until I could no longer stand being in the crowd.

I was the most surprised when Oreius informed us that morning that due to the ball there would be no training the next day. However, when I thought about it, I supposed it made sense, especially if Oreius didn't want to deal with twitterpated morons who might also be suffering from hangovers. Still, after being ambushed once again (can't imagine why I would expect to be able to walk into my chambers without being pounced on by Tuulea and her minions) and then forced into wearing the sapphire blue complicated formal dress (don't get me wrong, it was beautiful and comfortable but it was so...formal) with matching heeled shoes (only two inches but still I was already tall enough on my own), I would have taken another week of Oreius' training torture _with _the twitterpated morons if it would get me out of the entire affair. Unfortunately, that was not an option, which would explain why I was very reluctantly making my way towards the main ballroom (I wanted a surprise invasion of anything, even one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eaters, to give me an excuse not to go). The ball didn't officially start for another thirty minutes or so, but when Tuulea the Terrifying shoved me out the door of my rooms she had informed me that it would take me until the ball started to find my way there anyway so I might as well get started (or something along those lines). Admittedly, I intentionally did not bother to memorize any routes in the palace except the most essential ones, which consisted of the shortcut from my rooms to the library, the most direct route from my rooms to the great hall and out to the armory (of course, sometimes all I had to do was follow the blur of limbs that was Peter and Edmund when _they_ were late for training), and the most direct route from my rooms down to the southeastern solarium for Lucy's training sessions. However, since the main ballroom was only a few corridors down from the great hall, I wasn't afforded the luxury of the excuse that I didn't show up because I got hopelessly lost (as Tuulea reminded me right before she forced me out the door).

I was close enough that I could hear the voices of various Narnians drifting out of the ballroom and probably the great hall too (in other words, I was far too close to my evening of torture for comfort). I paused just before I turned the corner that joined the current hall I was hiding in (I'm a big girl I can admit I was hiding...looking back) with the corridor that lead to the ballroom and the crowds...I still hated being stuck in a crowd...why did I agree to consider going again? Oh right, Lucy and her big puppy dog eyes...drat my inability to outlast the girl (on the little things anyway). "Excuse me, my lady."

I turned to see a Faun who looked vaguely familiar, oh right, he had been one of the soldiers who watched when I lost the bet to Lucy and Edmund and was forced to perform a gymnastic routine down the hall. I wondered what he wanted; maybe it would be something that could get me out of going to the ball. As soon as he saw that he had my attention, the Faun quickly bowed his head before giving me a grin (I suddenly had a feeling that this wasn't going to end well...for him). "Good evening, Lady Katerina, please permit me to introduce myself. I am Cassius, and I simply had to approach you tonight and ask...where have you been all my life?"

Oh, for the love of all things that are bright and good in the world! He did not just try to use that pick up line on me (I'm in Narnia and the horrid pick up lines still crop up...unbelievable). I stared at him as I immediately retorted, "Avoiding you. Now, if you will excuse me, I clearly need to find a new hiding spot." I had hoped shutting him down would make him go away...it didn't work (big shocker there).

Cassius obviously thought of himself as a Narnian version of Casanova or Don Juan as my refusal just seemed to encourage him to try again. I quickly reminded myself that wiping the self-confident smirk off the Faun's face with a well-placed fist was not allowed as the persistent gnat stepped in front of me and started talking again. "I feel I should apologize for not offering to be your escort to the ball sooner. It would be a shame for any lady as beautiful as yourself to appear alone tonight. In fact, I must say that tonight you look as beautiful as a spring lily in Quickening and your eyes are blue...like the ocean, and I, I am lost at sea." Oh, please make it stop before I break something...like Cassius.

"Well, I hope you're a good swimmer because you'll be really lost when I leave." I turned to go down the corridor that led to the ballroom (the crowd would serve its purpose for losing this nitwit and then I would leave) and Cassius the clueless wonder of a wannabe Casanova got in my way again...now I was irritated. He didn't touch me (even the idiot knew better than to break courtesy in such a way...plus I was giving him my best 'do it and die' glare), but he did once again block my path and he was a bit too close for my personal happiness and comfort.

If he didn't get out of my way soon (i.e., the next two minutes or so), I was going to do something that I would appreciate, he wouldn't, and I would be in trouble...at the moment, I was almost inclined to say it would be worth it. Cassius ran a hand through his curly brown hair (was I supposed to be impressed? Oh, I know he wanted me to swoon... I don't know how to swoon, sorry) and gave me another smug grin (I was going to end up decking him on principle if he kept it up). "Lady Katerina, I must say your humor is...matchless. Shall we proceed to the ballroom together?"

Was he really that thick or was the idiot Casanova-wannabe actually trying to bait me into doing something rash? The answer was anybody's guess. I congratulated myself for maintaining a calm tone as I tried to get rid of the bothersome gnat, "I'm afraid that's not possible, Faun Cassius." I paused and then I forced myself to grind out something polite. "However, I thank you for the offer."

Why is it that being polite just seemed to encourage the bothersome, annoying, idiotic gnats of wannabe Casanovas? I have no idea, which might actually be a good thing since I don't really want to know what goes through the minds of said Casanova-wannabe gnats. I tried to step to the side, so I could move around him and Cassius once again blocked me. "Lady Katerina, I think you have misunderstood my intentions-"

"No." That got his attention finally. "No, I have not misunderstood. For one reason or another, you have decided that I should allow you to be my escort to the ball tonight. I have tried to be polite, but apparently, I've not been clear enough. So, please allow me to clarify my current position on your offer. I am not accepting your offer nor am I attending the ball tonight, so as you can see, an escort would be a pointless waste of both our times. I would greatly appreciate it, however, if you would cease to continue your quest and also allowed me to continue on my way." He gaped at me in shock and then he made the mistake of reaching a hand out to touch me, "If you touch me, Cassius, you will not be able to attend this ball either because you will be in desperate need of a healer."

He finally realized that I was dead serious in both my refusal and my threat. I was more than a little irritated with having to endure the entire debacle and if he had so much as breathed another stupid pick up line... Cassius was fortunate that Tuulea had taken my knives and refused to let me stash them somewhere on my person otherwise he would be beyond the healers' help. Fortunately, for the both of us, the Casanova-wannabe at last decided to cut his losses and leave while he was still able. Cassius bowed his head again then he silently retreated and I just barely avoided sighing aloud in relief. I watched as the Faun disappeared around the corner towards the ballroom and then, right before I turned to leave, I suddenly heard laughter coming from...behind me. Ugh, now what did I have to deal with before I could make my escape?

I turned around and had the sudden inexplicable urge to hit someone again when I saw Peter and Edmund chuckling as they walked up to me. I could tell by the twin mischievous looks that I was not dealing with the Kings of Narnia, just the fourteen-year-old and eleven-year-old boys who did so enjoy teasing their friend (that would be me, oh joy). The brothers grinned at me and I already knew I wasn't really going to like whatever was about to come out of their mouths. Edmund started it. "You could have given him a chance, Kat."

I raised an eyebrow, "No, no I couldn't."

Peter glanced at his brother then at me, "Well, you could have at least pretended to consider it. After all, Cassius isn't really that bad."

"Oh yes, Kat, it could have been much worse and who knows, if you had given him a chance, you might have found something in common."

Peter agreed with his brother before I had an opportunity to respond. "That's true, Ed. They might have had something in common and now she shall never know because she wouldn't give him a single chance."

I rolled my eyes at their teasing. Boys could be so annoying at times, such as right at that moment. "Cute. The only thing I have in common with Cassius is that we both live in Narnia. I will not be forced into feeling guilty over how I responded to his overtures. I did nothing wrong. I will not be made a fool of by anyone, I refuse. Please give my regards to your sisters and, if you would, please extend my apology to Lucy. It seems I'm unable to join the festivities after all. And, if you'll excuse me, I will take my leave now." By the end of my quiet speech, I had succeeded in dumbfounding Peter and Edmund who obviously didn't expect me to react that way. I was quietly seething and, if I hadn't thought it would be a pointless exercise, I would have truly lit into them. As it was, I just walked around them and hurried back up the corridors, putting as much distance between the festive crowd (not to mention, Peter and Edmund) and myself as quickly as I could manage. I heard them call my name softly as I was leaving, but I ignored them and instead concentrated on heading to a far less crowded and more comfortable place for me to hide away from the rest of the world. I had had enough for one day.

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"You owe us three silver Trees each, Cassius. And, I told you it wouldn't work."

Normally, I ignored the friendly betting between soldiers unless it somehow interfered with their duties or violated the code of conduct every member of Narnia's army was expected to follow. I also wasn't that surprised that the Faun Cassius had lost a bet, he had long ago gained the reputation for wagering a bet that he would be able to gain a small favor from any given Narnian lady, especially since he fancied himself to be an expert at wooing them. In reality, he only won those bets when the ladies he pursued either agreed to do something with him in order to make him stop pestering them or they agreed because they pitied him. Cassius must have tried to become a very last-minute escort to one of the ladies that others suspected would refuse him if he owed three silver Trees to each of his companions. I recognized the speaker as the Satyr Laurus, which made me wonder if Cassius had attempted to escort the Birch Nymph Amaryllis or perhaps her sister, Amarantha, as nearly everyone in the army was aware that Cletus was smitten with Amaryllis. It would be like Laurus to steer Cassius towards one of the sisters, especially since he knew very well that neither one of them had much patience for Cassius.

I shook my head in mild amusement as Cassius protested, "I was making progress, but then she changed her mind. Besides, I could not predict what thoughts go through the head of such a lady." I heard the others with him start a round of some good-natured ribbing as I continued up the corridor. There was no reason for me to get involved in the wager, which had apparently already been concluded.

The snippet of conversation I had overheard seemed unimportant until I made my way closer to the main ballroom and happened on another conversation, though this one was clearly not about a wager between soldiers. "What were you two idiots thinking?"

I immediately stopped walking, not wanting to intrude any further on a private conversation between the Royals, yet I had the dilemma of being heard if I moved again even to retreat and give them full privacy. So, I stood still and waited even though I could clearly hear the displeasure in Queen Susan's voice as she continued lecturing her brothers. "You should know better than tease her like that, especially you Peter."

King Peter sounded contrite and somewhat puzzled as he answered his sister, "We didn't expect her to react like that, Su. Normally, she has no problem taking our teasing and then returning the favor."

I frowned slightly as my suspicions about the identity of the lady in question were confirmed by the Gentle Queen's answer. "Yes, well obviously this time she had a problem with it. Do you know how long it took for Tuulea, Lucy, and I to convince our Katerina to even consider attending tonight's ball? Hours, and even then, Lucy was the one who finally convinced her to agree."

There was a pause in the conversation where I was certain that the Kings were contemplating their sister's words. Somehow, I was not surprised that Katerina Alambiel had become irritated with the Kings and then changed her mind about attending the ball. I had noticed that she didn't care much for parties in general, after all, she had only willingly attended the ball held in Frostmoon for King Edmund's eleventh birthday. King Edmund broke the silence first, "Should we try to find her, Su?"

I doubted that would go over well with Katerina Alambiel. I heard no hesitation as Queen Susan responded, "No, Ed, I don't think you should try tonight at least. We are to officially open the ball in only a few minutes' time, and you two are Lucy's and mine escorts, so you can't leave now. And, I rather doubt that you would be able to find our Katerina anyway."

"We will make amends with Kat tomorrow then. By the way, where is Lucy?"

"She's coming down in a moment, Peter. Consider yourselves fortunate that you don't have to explain to Lucy why Kat will not be showing her face at the ball tonight until tomorrow. Oh, and you two had better hope that Kat is in a forgiving mood tomorrow, otherwise I suspect she will find a way to thrash the both of you in training next Firstday...and Oreius will probably let her too."

I just might allow Katerina Alambiel to do so even if she did forgive the Kings tomorrow. I heard Queen Lucy join her siblings and then their voices faded as they proceeded to the main ballroom. I had a feeling that the wager I had heard between Cletus and Laurus was tied in with Katerina's displeasure with the Kings. I quickly turned around and walked up the corridors. Katerina Alambiel would have sought out one of the places she felt most comfortable with and one she was certain would be nearly deserted. I knew exactly where I would find her.

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I stepped into the library and was immediately greeted by the sight of Stonebrook and Tuulea holding a whispered conversation. They both fell silent at my entrance and Stonebrook quietly nodded towards the back right corner of the room. Katerina must have hidden herself somewhere amongst the shadowed shelves. I nodded my thanks and was about to search her out when Tuulea broke her silence. "Oreius, in thirty minutes time, you'll find refreshments in the solarium." She didn't even wait for me to nod before she turned back to her husband and, accepting the dismissal, I walked towards the back of the library. "Come on, Stonebrook, we do not want to be late for the ball."

I couldn't help smirking when I heard Stonebrook's muttered question, "We're going?"

"Of course, we are. I want to see if Illusin asked to be her escort." Apparently, Silverstone had been correct when he mentioned that Tuulea was focusing her efforts on pushing her eldest son to get married. I shook my head in amusement as I heard Stonebrook sigh then his hooves echoed on the marble floor as he followed the lighter steps of his wife before the doors to the library were closed in their wake. Now, I just had to figure out where exactly in the back right corner Katerina had hidden herself.

The library of Cair Paravel was a huge maze of shelves, so it took almost twenty minutes of careful searching before I finally found Katerina Alambiel, and it would have taken even longer if I had not known she was in a specific corner. She was at the very end of the row, leaning back against the wall with a single candle illuminating the area around her and the thick book in her lap. She looked up from her reading as soon as she heard me. I didn't say anything until I stopped just in front of her. "They meant no insult, Katerina."

She closed her book with a sigh, "I know that, Oreius. But, the idiots just had to tease me right after I had to put up with that Casanova-wannabe of a Faun, and I had no patience for it tonight."

"What is a "Casanova"?"

Katerina paused for a moment, and then she responded in a careful tone. "Casanova was an infamous rake and ladies' man; his name became synonymous with any man who was extremely...popular...with the ladies, or at least thought he was. Calling someone a Casanova-wannabe means the person in question fancies himself to be so suave and such an expert on women that he thinks he can sweep just about any one of them off their feet."

Well, that certainly described Cassius. I grinned down at her, "In Narnia, we say they are trying to be the next Adonis."

Katerina tilted her head, "And, he was who exactly?"

"A very foolish Faun who tried to woo twenty Nymphs at the same time without any of the Nymphs in question or their respective relatives finding out that he was doing so. Most of the Nymphs indulged in a harmless flirtation with him; however, three of them wanted a true courtship, not a flirtation. Adonis agreed to speak with their fathers who were all esteemed elders of their peoples, the Centaurs, the Satyrs, and the Fauns respectively. Unfortunately, for Adonis, he did not remember that there was a very high probability that the three Nymphs and their fathers knew each other, which they did and he was summarily found out. The story doesn't say what happened to him other than the fact that none of the twenty Nymphs gave him more than a passing word afterwards, and his name lives on only as the label for any male who engages in flirtation with as many ladies as he can or believes himself to be such an expert at wooing ladies that he could successfully court any one of them."

Katerina shook her head, "I suspect that his fate was somewhat unpleasant, if even one of the fathers had taken strong exception to his actions. And, he would deserve it."

I chuckled, but I could hardly disagree with her assessment since that had been my suspicion from the first time I had heard the story. Besides, I knew what I would have done if I had been one of the fathers in the story...the original Adonis would never have had a chance to face the other two fathers. Glancing back down at Katerina, I changed the subject. "What are you doing back here, anyway?"

She raised an eyebrow before she answered in a wry tone, "Hiding from everyone, except you apparently, Kentauri. How did you know where to find me?"

"I knew you would come to the library because it would be nearly deserted tonight...and because you wouldn't be able to find your way to any other hiding spot."

I hadn't been able to resist teasing her and she responded by rolling her eyes, "Wonderful, he tells jokes now."

I smirked at her, and then I offered her my hand. "Come, we can continue our conversation in a more comfortable place that does not have Elwood as its primary caretaker."

She smiled at my reference to the Badger who strongly objected to anyone coming into his library and using it like it was a "watering hole for dumb beasts" as he had put it the time he came upon Katerina and I talking to each other in the library and not even about books. Accepting my hand, Katerina allowed me to pull her to her feet and carefully put the book she had been reading back in its proper place before she crouched back down to pick up the candle she had been using. We wove our way through the long rows of bookshelves and finally reached the door to the solarium on the far side of the library. Entering the room, I was pleased to see that Tuulea had kept her word as the large table along the opposite wall was burdened with more than enough food and drink to satisfy both a Human and a Centaur. Katerina looked bemused when she saw the refreshments, but for once, she didn't argue about whether she needed to eat something or not. We didn't speak much while we enjoyed the meal, instead Katerina paid more attention to the snow falling on the other side of the balcony doors than anything else.

She was still being rather quiet when she joined me in front of the fireplace. I glanced at her and smirked, "Do you have enough chocolate, Katerina Alambiel?"

She looked at me, then at her full mug of hot chocolate and the plate holding a large slice of chocolate cake, then back at me before she shrugged, "We'll have to see, Kentauri."

I chuckled as she shifted her position, "Are you comfortable now?"

She didn't answer, instead she carefully set her mug down and held up a finger before she reached down and pulled off first one shoe then the other and tossed both of them to the other side of the room. She looked at me and grinned, "_Now_ I'm comfortable, Kentauri. Those heels make my feet hurt and it's silly to wear them when I already stand about six feet without any shoes on."

"Then why were you wearing them?"

"Tuulea made me."

I chuckled at her tone, and then I changed the subject to something that peaked my curiosity. "What did Cassius say to you that irritated you so much that you lost your sense of humor?"

She gave me a bemused look, "You know the Faun was Cassius? What am I saying? Of course, you know because you're you. He just managed to irritate me by being a bothersome gnat with his attempts at sweeping me off my feet, not to mention he kept blocking my path. I declined his offer four different times before he finally stopped pestering me about accepting him as my escort to the ball."

I shook my head at hearing about Cassius' behavior, even with Katerina Alambiel leaving out details, I could tell that he had overstepped his bounds with her. "Cassius is a fool and he was involved with a wager concerning whether or not he could get you to accept him as your escort tonight."

Katerina took a drink before muttering, "Well, that explains why he was being so persistent and I no longer feel guilty about threatening him."

I raised an eyebrow, "You felt guilty about threatening him?"

"Well, I had this very minute twinge of guilt for resorting to threatening to make him miss the party because he was in need of a healer. But, it's gone now."

I had to resist the urge to laugh as I commented, "I didn't think you would be able to wear your knife harness with that style of dress."

"I don't have my knives on me, but that doesn't mean I couldn't have put Cassius in the healer's wing if I had made the effort." I believed her. Before I had a chance to respond, Katerina gave me a thoughtful look as she asked, "Out of curiosity, what color are lilies in Quickening?"

"They are white, or at least the ones that opened early are."

She narrowed her eyes slightly, "What do you mean?"

"Most lilies do not bloom until Mayblossom."

Katerina shook her head, "And, I actually thought he had managed to get one true compliment in before he followed up with the next comparison that was so terrible it was sad."

"What did he say?"

She looked at me clearly contemplating her answer, and then she just shook her head again. "No, I'm not telling you. It was so bad that _I_ feel embarrassed for the idiot."

Even after several minutes of trying, I could not persuade Katerina Alambiel to share what exactly Cassius had said to her. I would just have to wait until Cassius tried boasting to find out what he said, but I decided it would be better for Cassius if Katerina did not know about that particular habit. I decided it was as good a time as any to shift the focus of our conversation once more. "Why didn't you want to go tonight?"

Katerina shrugged unconcernedly and rose to put away her empty plate and mug. She poured herself another cup of hot chocolate before she finally answered. "I didn't want to go because I don't really see the point of Sweethearts' Day."

A filly who didn't see the point of Sweethearts' Day? I hadn't expected that. "You mean to say that you do not see the point of a day dedicated to celebrating love and romance?" The moment I mentioned romance, Katerina rolled her eyes with a faint grimace. "You do not believe in romance, Katerina Alambiel?"

"No, Kentauri, I don't. Romance is an illusion that people use to delude themselves into thinking that what they claim is love is even remotely close to anything other than what it really is. The gushing, flowery speeches of twitterpated morons about their current object of affection's hair, eyes, and any other body part they can think of is not romance. It is merely their means of trying to get what they want from who they want...and it's usually sappy enough to be gag-worthy. What I have seen people claim is romance is nothing but a fantasy that ultimately falls apart under close scrutiny."

That was more cynical than I had expected. I didn't know what she meant exactly when she referred to 'twitterpated morons' but I could guess. Still, I was more interested in what else she had to say about the subject than figuring out the exact meaning of some of the phrases she used. "And, what of love? Do you deny its existence as well?"

That cynical gleam reappeared in her eyes as she responded in a low tone, "Not exactly, Oreius. I believe that there is such a thing as filial love and familial love. Romantic love, on the other hand…most people don't even seem to understand what romantic love is actually supposed to be, much less experience it for themselves. Romantic love is based on physical attraction more often than not, which would be why it is hardly ever true." That was not how it worked in Narnia, but I could see she had more to say on the subject, so I kept my silence. "Look, I know that I am rather cynical when it comes to the whole love and romance aspect of life. But, I have my reasons. And, yet I cannot deny that love exists; otherwise, people wouldn't want it for themselves. In the orphanage, I could see the desire for every type of love. The little ones' greatest desire was for familial love...for parents and maybe a sibling, if they were fortunate. Once they got a little older, their desire for familial love didn't exactly fade instead it shared space with the desire for filial love...for the love and trust shared between the closest of friends, no matter whether their friends were many or if it was just one person. But, when they grew older, especially when they came closer to aging out of the home, their greatest desire was not for familial or filial love, it was for romantic love. I watched girls allow themselves to be used like they were objects because they thought that was true love and that it was a form of romance."

I suspected that it was more than just her experiences at this orphanage that contributed to her cynical view of love and romance. Of course, I also did not fully understand the concept of the orphanage she spoke of as orphans in Narnia who were not yet of age would be taken into the homes of relatives or a guardian and become part of their family as well. But, to press her on those details would require me to break my word that I would not push her into telling me her secrets, so I could only question her carefully about something a little less intrusive. "The way you speak makes me wonder if you do not believe in true love."

Katerina gave me an indecipherable look before she responded in such a careful tone that I could tell she was weighing each word before she spoke it. "Actually, I do believe that there is such a thing as true love...if only because I've seen a few couples who could have been the epitome of the phenomenon known as true love. It's just...rare, a lot rarer than one would suppose when listening to people who foolishly mistake brief infatuation for a love that should last a lifetime and grow through both the good times and the bad. True love is not in the romantic trappings and all this frip frap of elaborate gestures and extravagant speeches to show one's love. It is what's left when all that extra stuff has been stripped away. True love is not the romance, but it is what makes the romance something worthwhile. I do believe that true love exists, it's just that I don't think it happens very often."

I ran a hand over my beard as I considered what she had said. Some of it I agreed with, but other parts I did not. "So, you believe people marry for reasons other than the fact that they share a true love with one another, such as a fleeting infatuation? That hardly ever happens in Narnia, though it apparently happens with surprising frequency outside of Narnia. Those who do so often believe that even though they married without love, they can learn to love each other. And, what is that look for?"

She hadn't expected me to turn the conversation back over to her so soon. Katerina shook her head but the cynical gleam in her eyes didn't change as she candidly replied, "I don't believe you can learn to love someone to the extent of true love, well, at least I couldn't. However, I salute those who do manage such a feat."

I raised an eyebrow at her, "Ah, so you do believe in true love...and you want it for yourself."

Katerina rolled her eyes, "Oreius, just about everyone wants true love. However, just because everyone wants it that doesn't mean everyone will experience it. I don't see true love in my future because I have too many ghosts, which would make it a bit unfair of me to expect someone else to deal with them every minute of every day, oh and I tend to scare the few potential suitors away."

Ghosts...not real ghosts, but those from her memories of the past that she still refuses to share in full. This was the first time she had admitted that she did have those haunting memories, though I had been able to see them in her eyes the few times she dropped her guard. Her tone had changed almost immediately after she mentioned them to a self-mocking tone as she mentioned scaring her suitors away and I recognized the sign that she had come perilously close to revealing some of the secrets she still clung to and was now trying to divert my attention. I honored my promise and indulged her silent request. "Why do I have the feeling that you, Katerina Alambiel, are not very remorseful for scaring your suitors away because you do it on purpose?"

I watched as the slight tension that had shown up after she mentioned her ghosts drained away as she willingly switched to a lighter vein of conversation. She smiled and I could see the cynicism in her eyes be replaced by a more mischievous glint. She raised her hand in a carefree gesture as she spoke in a far lighter and more playful tone. "Well, like Charlie always said, "If they can be scared away, they weren't worth your time anyway." Of course, then he would usually follow that sage piece of advice up with something along the lines of "Get your hands up, girl! He's trying to kill you! Block or you deserve the bruises!" What? Charlie taught me how to fight, so I can blame him for part of the reason I scare off suitors. The other part is I think it's rather funny to see their reactions to my way of doing things, not to mention it's always interesting to see how long they last after getting a good dose of my personality. So, now you know why I don't have a sweetheart. What's your excuse?"

She didn't say much about this Charlie of hers, but she was obviously very fond of him and based on what little I knew, I had a feeling that I would have enjoyed meeting the man. If anything, he was definitely a competent teacher in the art of hand-to-hand combat. Unfortunately, that thought didn't really comfort me when Katerina suddenly decided to turn the focus of our conversation back on me. "My excuse is that I've pursued no one as of yet because I am very busy right now and I've too many responsibilities at the moment to take the time necessary to properly court a filly."

Katerina gave me an amused look, "Right, so does that excuse actually hold water when the meddlers pester you about it? Oh no, wait let me guess, they haven't had time to focus on you yet." Well, that was true but she didn't have to say it in such a gleefully mocking tone. I forced myself to hide my own growing amusement and graced her with a mock-glare, which didn't faze her in the least as she tilted her head and asked, "Now, I'm curious, when you say 'properly court', does that include anything that would count as a romantic gesture?"

I shrugged, "Well, nothing too...extravagant as you put it, but what better way to indicate your love for someone than to show it through your actions? It is even better than words, though those work too."

For some reason she found my answer extremely amusing as she suddenly ducked her head and indulged in a fit of silent laughter. I had no idea what she had found so humorous about a simple observation, but at least she was enjoying herself. When she finally regained control she gave me a considering look, "So, since we both have our reasons for no sweethearts, and therefore, no real reason to enjoy the frip frap of Sweethearts' Day, what would you say if I told you I intend to plan a coup for next year's Sweethearts' Day?"

And, I should have known she would not be able to leave this conversation without once mentioning a desire to plan a coup. I shook my head at her and then I gave her a conspiratorial grin as I leaned forward and whispered, "I'll help, but we should start planning now."

She was trying not to laugh as she whispered back, "Why?"

I barely stifled my own urge to laugh as I quietly replied, "Because it will take us a year to figure out how to plan a coup for Sweethearts' Day and not get caught by Tuulea, who will then take our heads for daring to interfere with it."

I was impressed when the laughter in Katerina Alambiel's eyes did not find its release as she countered, "You mean to say that Tuulea will take your head, Kentauri. Because she actually likes me."

"She won't when she learns throwing a coup on Sweethearts' Day was your idea, Katerina."

"Not if I tell her that it was all your idea, Kentauri."

Sadly, she had a point and I was forced to cede the argument to her, much to her amusement. The rest of our conversation was focused on lighter topics, such as what she planned to do to the Kings in revenge for their ill-thought teasing...I managed to steer her away from some of the more potentially painful retributions she had contemplated. She didn't tell me what she finally decided on doing to them, so I had to admire her ingenuity and join in the laughter when they showed up at training on Firstday with bright orange hair; apparently, Katerina had enlisted their sisters' help with carrying out her revenge and the Queens were more than willing to help. Katerina Alambiel was still an enigma to me, but I was slowly beginning to learn about how she viewed the world if not always why she viewed things the way she did. Some of her views I could agree with without hesitation, but others left me perplexed. Perhaps if she should one day trust me completely with all of her secrets, I will understand then and be a better, truer shield for her. Until then, I was content to watch, wait, and listen whenever Katerina Alambiel needed me to do so.

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**A/N: Please Read and Review! Okay...so after a month (many, many apologies), I finally finished and posted the Valentine's Day chapter. This is technicallly the last chapter of ****_Shields_**** as all that's left is the epilogue. I'm going to go ahead and warn y'all that the epilogue will contain MAJOR SPOILERS for both ****_Shadowed_**** and ****_Revealed_**** since it is set after ****_Shadowed_**** and in the time break found in the first chapter of ****_Revealed_****. So, if you haven't read ****_Shadowed_**** and ****_Revealed_**** yet, I strongly suggest catching up before reading the epilogue. It will also be the chapter that contains the true hurt/comfort portion of ****_Shields_****. I can't give any estimates for when the epilogue will show up as I'm about to start a huge project for school, but I will get it up as soon as possible. Click the little review button below and let me know what y'all thought about this chapter (virtual cupcakes to anyone who can guess why Kat laughed at Oreius' statement about actions being better than words ;)) and if you have a request for a future story/one-shot leave it with your review and I will do my best to write it up.**


	14. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.

Summary: Not all shields look as we expected... Not all shields are physical...

Additional Disclaimer: Not one of the songs included in this chapter belong to me. _Because of You_ belongs to Kelly Clarkson, _When You Are a Soldier_ belongs to Steven Curtis Chapman, and _I Will_ belongs to Lady Firewing. The Professor's quote (you'll know it when you see it) is from an anonymous source but it still doesn't belong to me.

A/N: Many thanks to Lady Firewing for giving me permission to include _I Will_, the original song she wrote in this epilogue because it was the perfect fit to Kat and Oreius. I hope this monster of a chapter lives up to your expectations. To cut down on confusion, the first section is from Katerina's POV, the middle section is from Tuulea's POV and the last section is from Oreius' POV. Enjoy!

Additional Chapter Warning: Sensitive readers beware...a good bit of angst ahead in the form of panic attacks, manifestation of PTSD, dark flashbacks, and general hurt. Grab a box of tissues before continuing...you may need it for this first section in particular.

**SPOILER ALERT! This chapter includes huge spoilers for _Shadowed_ and _Revealed_, if you haven't read those two stories yet, do not read this epilogue...unless you love spoilers.**

Epilogue

20 Mayblossom 1002

Who can predict how rapidly life will change? Two months ago, my life changed...and I suppose overall, the change was for the best. My place in Narnia had been challenged and I almost didn't walk away from that challenge (it figured that Jannes was not the worst that could happen to me...Jambres was a lot worse and not nearly as insane). I learned something very important though...I learned that I actually did belong somewhere...I belonged in Narnia. I learned I was part Narnian...that I hadn't been expecting, especially when I found out the exact background for my Narnian side of the family (complicated was one way to put it). However, as of two months ago, my darkest secret (the one that I had refused to confide to even Oreius) was not only exposed but it was also common knowledge among every Narnian who was of age in at least Cair Paravel, the army, and...actually probably every adult in Narnia knew by now. Of the Royals, only Peter and Susan knew the details of my secret but I found out yesterday after a very, very long day of training (Oreius had been on the receiving end of one of my pranks the week before and he retaliated through training sessions as usual) that both Edmund and Lucy were aware of my scars. Lucy sadly informed me that she didn't think her cordial would make my scars go away otherwise she would offer it (the poor girl looked so sad that she couldn't do something to help me that I gave her a hug...I was being such a softie but Lucy needed it). I still wasn't sure how I felt about everyone knowing what had happened to me, but I did know that I didn't want anyone's pity.

Unfortunately, when I had been forced to open up about my past, I had dredged up enough bad memories that the past two months had been awful just from the number of nightmares (which were even more intense than usual and had far more of the details I tried to avoid thinking about) I had been enduring. Of course, because I was unwilling to admit a weakness (Oreius, Tuulea, and Alithia hold the opinion that this is a sign of my extreme stubbornness and is what gets me into trouble more often than not...looking back, they just might have a point), I had not told anyone that I was having difficulty sleeping or why I was having nightmares. I had survived for nearly seven years by dealing with my ghosts and their painful memories on my own, and I was determined to prove to myself that I could still do it on my own...

_Dark hateful eyes leered at me across the courtroom. I could feel his hate for me building every moment I sat in the witness chair and related to everyone in the room what he had done to me and to Maddie and to Nekane and to all the other girls he had taken. His eyes never looked away and my hands started to hurt again as if he were driving those daggers through them all over again. I took a breath. I despise him...I pity him too. I want this to be over with already. I-_

"Dame Sepphora?"

The memory of the courtroom faded as I blinked. The garishly bright courtroom and those dark leering eyes of the Monster were replaced with the nearly dark library and the concerned eyes of a Fox sitting just in front of me. (Did I mention my nightmares had started to become flashbacks? I hate Murphy... Was it really too much to ask for an hour or two of peace from those memories?) I flash him a tightlipped smile as I shoved those memories back into the dark corner they had crawled out of (why do the things we try to avoid thinking about always come back like bad horror movie monsters?) then asked, "Do you need something, Sir Rupert?"

Sir Rupert tilted his head, peering at my face, before he answered, "Queen Susan expressed a concern that you're missing the banquet...again. I came to find you before you miss it completely."

I gave him another smile (wider this time), hoping he didn't figure out I wasn't in the...best of moods for lack of a better description that actually collaborated with my denial route (I can admit denial...sometimes). "Of course, thank you, Sir Rupert. I'll be there as soon as I finish tidying up my notes."

Rupert nodded and turned to leap down from the table, but then he paused. "Are you certain you are well, Lady Katerina? You seemed troubled before I caught your attention, which took far longer than usual."

Oh bother, why, why did Animals have to be so much better at reading the subtle than everyone else? Silently wishing that Sir Rupert didn't pay quite so close attention to me as he did, I shrugged as casually as possible. "Oh, I was just lost in thought about several things. Nothing too troubling. However, I just had the troubling realization that Elwood will kill me if I don't leave some semblance of order in my wake." I did not lie. My thoughts hadn't been troubling, they had been terrifying.

Sir Rupert chuckled as he leapt down, "My dear Lady Katerina, I should think even the challenge of leaving order in your wake shouldn't prove too difficult, particularly with this table." I smile slightly as we both took in the sight of the table that was honestly rather cluttered even when my notes weren't taking up the one cleared spot. The Fox had a point... Having only just started my investigation of the genealogical records in the last month and a half, I hadn't made much of a dent in the sheer amount of information stacked in tall piles on the tabletop.

The thing about leaving order in my wake, though, that wasn't my fault really. For whatever reason when their royal majesties decided I needed a proper set of rooms (because a parlor and bedroom with attached bathroom apparently weren't enough) upon being knighted, I was moved to a larger set of rooms as in parlor, bedroom with a large attached bathroom, and a study. It wasn't that far from my previous quarters (I don't think they believed I would be able to find my way if they moved me too far), but my study almost immediately became a source of entertainment for the Four and my fellow knights (still felt odd thinking of them like that) when they saw how I keep my papers... Well, I avoided paperwork as much as possible (Oreius didn't seem to appreciate that for some strange reason) and my desk was what I liked to call "organized chaos" and the Kentauri claimed was simply a chaotic mess. Not sure why they were all so fascinated with my desk, but it served to distract Sir Rupert as he peered into my study and chuckled at the sight of my desk being covered in papers. "Are you ever going to fill out those reports?"

I dropped my notes onto the small table tucked in the far corner of my parlor and managed to summon a genuine smile as I met Rupert's gaze. "Sure I will...when Oreius is to the point that he has given up on me actually doing them."

Knowing full well how Oreius and I had already clashed to an extent over my organizational skills (he thinks I don't have any...I disagree on principle) and the whole filling out reports thingamajig, Rupert chuckled again as we made our way to join the banquet... I forget what it was actually aimed at, something to do with Spring that gave the Narnians an excuse to throw a party (to say they're quite fond of parties/celebrations/feasts would be an understatement). I would have enjoyed myself more if my memories hadn't kept cropping up...and they weren't the good ones. By Narnian standards, the banquet was on the small side (I could almost see the wall opposite me), but it was just crowded enough that I wasn't comfortable, not to mention the crowd was also large enough that although I had spotted (and been spotted by) several of the select few who knew me best, I was nowhere near any of them. I reacted to the entire situation by forcing myself to smile and occasionally laugh as I chatted (I can't believe I've taken to chatting of all things...Lucy's infected me) casually with one of the Nymph archers, a Naiad by the name of Ama. We didn't know each other well since I didn't interact very often with the archers seeing how archery was not my strong point. It only took one round of practice to convince Oreius of that fact (not to mention he decided I was a true menace to everyone around me with a bow in my hands...I actually agreed with him on that one). During our conversation or chat or whatever it was as I forced myself to act as though nothing bothered me and convinced everyone around me that I was just fine, I suddenly remembered part of a song that had been playing on the radio the first time I was being escorted to a courthouse. I think the only reason the Marshal driving hadn't flipped the channel was because he looked at the thirteen-year-old girl with heavily bandaged hands sitting in the backseat. How did it go again? Ah yes..._Because of you I find it hard to trust Not only me, but everyone around me... I'm forced to fake A smile, a laugh, every day of my life..._ How appropriate.

I shoved that memory down only to feel my smile waver as the memory of dark leering eyes slammed into me again. The worst memories have the worst timing...I was starting to believe it was in the fine text of Murphy's law to torment one Katerina Alambiel as much as ridiculously possible. On a more serious note, that day had been the worst as far as memories and flashbacks were concerned...maybe it was a side effect of one very long week of training combined with very little sleep, I didn't know. Nearly seven years of practice allowed me to keep the mask in place and I continued through the banquet pretending that nothing bothered me...I was just fine. I was just fine and if they couldn't see the cracks in my mask, they couldn't prove otherwise...although I admit to avoiding tempting fate (or Murphy) by keeping my distance from the ones I suspected would argue with that statement.

The banquet ended around tenth hour and I took the opportunity to immediately retreat to my rooms. I was done interacting with people for the day...I was done interacting with friends too. Shoving my dark memories back for the umpteenth time, I tried to distract myself by going over my notes. I didn't get far before I realized I had left my most recent notes in the library. I wasn't that far from the library when I heard Tuulea talking to someone, probably Stonebrook, but I wasn't paying close attention until I heard my name (definitely Stonebrook) and then Tuulea said, "She's just a child!"

A simple protest. I had heard the phrase before, but between the use of my name and the memories... I froze mid-step as Tuulea's voice transformed into a voice from my past.

_Maddie pleaded with the Monster, "No, no, don't hurt her. Don't touch her. She's just a child! Leave her alone! Why did you take her? Stop! She's just a child. You Monster!"_

I barely managed to maintain my control as I forced myself not to give in to the terror accompanying that memory. My hands and back ached just like they had when I was first wounded. I would not run. I would not scream. I would not show weakness. I was breathing a little harder than I would have liked, but other than that, I managed to force myself to act normal as I abandoned my plan to collect those last notes from the library in favor of retreating to the privacy of my rooms.

My hands were shaking when I finally shut the main doors to my quarters. I took a deep breath in an effort to regain control of myself and nearly gagged as my mind chose to recreate the sensory memory of how the Monster's lair had smelled...coppery blood, stale sweat, sickly sweet chloroform, and the rotting decaying stench of death. Jambres' lair had been too similar to the Monster's visually, but the smell hadn't been there, thank God. I staggered to the window and pressed my temple against the cool glass as I lost my fight against those memories I had struggled to avoid for so long.

It was like the opening of a floodgate. I remembered it all...I still couldn't escape it. I remembered everything about the Monster like how his eyes were dead, dark, leering, and promised death or how his horrid breath smelled like rotten fish when he whispered his mockery or when he tried to choke me to death in the courtroom when I was sixteen. My throat closed as I recalled that terrifying moment.

_The courthouse was packed. Everyone in town seemed to be in the building staring and whispering whenever I had to appear in court. The prosecution had just wrapped up and I looked over at the jury to see how they all sat stiff and pale-faced in the aftermath of my account. It used to be worse when they heard how old I had been...when I had still been relatively close to thirteen. Now, at sixteen, I was fair game, especially for the defense. Tomorrow the defense would try to paint me a liar or worse...the DA had already warned me. The judge dismissed the court for the day, and he gave me a sympathetic look before he ordered me to remember I was still under oath and was not to talk about anything. I gave a quick nod, not telling him what I was thinking...it wasn't my first rodeo._

_I glanced at the prosecutor and his assistant, but they were in deep conversation with one of the deputies acting as my escort. She was new... I preferred the Marshals, at least they could hide the pitying, horrified looks. The Monster was staring at me, but I forced myself to meet his gaze as I slipped out of the witness box and headed for the deputy. There was a sudden roar of rage as I drew even with the prosecutor's table. "I'll kill you! You can't escape your fate! I'll kill you!"_

_The next moment I slammed against the hard floor with the Monster on top of me, his hands around my throat, and him shrieking, "You think you can escape death? You little freak. You can't! I'll kill you!"_

_His hands tightened and I coughed then gagged under a combination of the pressure he was applying to my neck and the putrid stench of his fishy breath. Did the man have no concept of how to use a toothbrush? I tried to raise my left hand and hit him, but he must have guessed my intent as he shifted his weight so his knee pinned my wrist. I dug the fingers of my right hand into the small space between his hands and my neck in a desperate attempt to breathe. Dark spots danced in front of my eyes, progressively growing to block out parts of the Monster's crazed, leering face. I heard shouts and caught a glimpse of hands pulling at the Monster's jumpsuit and at his hands, prying them free of my throat. He screamed again as the deputies and bailiff pulled him off me completely and the prosecutor scurried over to check on me. "I'll kill you! You can't escape your fate, princess. I'll kill you, you little freak! If I have to hire someone to shoot you, I will make sure you die!"_

I could still hear the prosecutor asking if I was all right, could I hear him when the memory of his clipped tenor was replaced with a deeper rumble asking the same questions. I tried to answer, but I couldn't force the words out. A small corner of my mind noted that I was well into my panic attack now, and I should consider myself lucky that the last time this had happened had been when I was fifteen. The terror of my memories had me in a stranglehold. My heart was racing and I was well on my way to hyperventilating. I tried to answer, but once again failed as I gasped from the phantom pains plaguing my hands and back. My vision swam and I felt like I might black out. I needed to get away.

I took a step back and bumped into something, probably the table, but all my mind registered was the fact I was trapped and couldn't run. My terror escalated and I didn't even try to answer the next half-heard question. Hands caught my flailing arms and I jerked against them. Not again...not again, I couldn't stand being touched at that moment...not again. The small corner of my mind that my rational thought had apparently retreated to once again noted that I should stop struggling because he was the last person who would hurt me. The part of my brain controlling my actions ignored that little memo. I jerked free...or he let me go. I could sense him backing up, giving me the space I so desperately needed, but all I could see was the Monster coming after me again and again...in the courtroom, in his lair, and in the woods when I was running...my hands...my back...Nekane...Maddie...so much blood...

I gasped as the Monster lunged at me again and finally gave in to my fears. I tried to run. Strong hands caught me and I thrashed in an attempt to get free until a sharp stinging blow cracked across my cheek. I gasped again then gave up the struggle as I continued to hyperventilate, but my vision finally cleared enough for me to see Oreius watching me with unmasked concern. He said my name just as my legs gave out and I simply collapsed to the floor. I was hyperventilating and shaking and trying so hard not to sob from the remembered terror and pain. I was torn between wanting Oreius to go away before he saw me break any further and not wanting to be left alone. I also couldn't have stood and run even if Oreius would have let me...something I doubted...so I managed to swivel around until I was kneeling away from Oreius. I was still shaking, so I didn't really register when I started rocking while still hunched over my knees.

For a little while (minutes, seconds, hours, I couldn't even begin to guess), I stayed like that with only the sound of my pounding heart and my far too rapid breaths as company. I felt another sob working its way past the lump in my throat and tried to swallow it, but I don't think it worked because the next thing I knew Oreius was talking to me in a soft, gentle tone like one used with a spooked horse. "Katerina Alambiel, you are safe. Relax, shh. Let me help you. He can't hurt you anymore, I promise. Relax. Let me help you. I won't let anyone hurt you. Katerina Alambiel, relax. Breathe."

I felt him place a cautious hand on my shoulder and I shuddered but didn't try to move. I'm not sure if I was finally listening to the small corner of my mind that was chiming in about how Oreius would never hurt me or if I was reacting more like any spooked being who naturally senses whether someone means harm or not, but either way I let him pull me closer until I could feel his chest against my back. I tensed at the contact then rocked again as I struggled to breathe normally. He kept talking to me, but this time he wanted me to do something. "Katerina Alambiel, you need to relax and slow your breathing. Shh, wait just relax. Breathe. I want you to breathe with me. I know you can do it, just relax and take a breath when I do. Come on, Alambiel. There you go. Breathe. Steady now, in then out. Breathe."

I was still rocking slightly and he was rocking with me, but I was doing what he wanted as I started to take deeper, longer, shuddering breaths that nearly matched his own...his didn't shudder. I listened as he kept talking, his voice rumbling just above and behind my head. It was better than hearing the Monster's screamed threats again. Another soft sob escaped me even though I still couldn't force any words out and I felt Oreius tighten his grip on my shoulders and arms in response. Clinging to his rumbled reassurances and the sensation of being held instead of being alone was the only way I could keep my tenuous grip on the last thread of my control as more memories assaulted me.

I shut my eyes when I heard the doors open then shut and a hurried soft question. Oreius rumbled an answer, but I didn't open my eyes or pay attention to what was being said until hands touched my curled fingers. My eyes flew open as I reflexively jerked away only to stop because of Oreius holding me. Terror fought to catch me again its suffocating grasp as I met Tuulea's concerned eyes. I shivered with the sheer force of my unvoiced screams... Oreius and Tuulea didn't understand...they wouldn't have continued to gently yet determinedly uncurl my fingers if they did.

_The Monster barked a coarse laugh as he grabbed my fist and forced me to stretch out my arm. He held the bright silver dagger in front of my eyes as he pulled at my fingers until they uncurled. He leaned in suddenly and I gagged at his breath as he whispered, "Time to scream, princess." I watched in horror as he brought the dagger down toward my hand. _

A voice cut through my memory of the pain and terror that moment had ushered in and how I had screamed for the Monster...that first time and many times after it. "Tuulea, hurry. She's hyperventilating again." That was true. "Relax, Alambiel, and breathe. Come on, breathe with me." I was trying, believe me, I was trying. Oreius rumbled again as Tuulea released my fingers and he shifted his hands so he could cup mine, which were once again curled tight. "Sherket, do not speak a word of what you've seen or heard to anyone outside this room." She growled her assent, and then I heard Tuulea whispering to Oreius before the doors opened and closed again.

I gasped and Oreius went back to trying to calm me down by having me match my breathing to his. It took longer this time...or at least it felt that way to me, but eventually my breathing slowed again so I was no longer hyperventilating. I finally stopped rocking as terror receded only to be replaced with an overwhelming sense of grief. The few soft sobs from before had nothing on what happened next as I took a shuddering breath, then I bowed my head and harsh sobs broke free. Oreius shifted behind me and moved his arms so now they wrapped across my shoulders holding me securely against him as I lifted my hands and clung to his arm as I sobbed.

After awhile I shifted slightly to my right and dropped my forehead to touch Oreius' shoulder. He let me cry against his shoulder. All he did was continue holding me and occasionally rub my arm. I sobbed for the years lost, for my friends Nekane and Maddie whom the Monster had stolen, for Jack and Clive who were taken when I was fifteen, for the Professor who tried so hard to help me but I couldn't bring myself to let him before he died in the same train crash as Jack and Clive, for Charlie and his team who trained me before they were forced to let me go, and for everything else I had bottled up inside since it happened. I sobbed as I mourned until I finally let go of it all, something I had resisted doing until that moment.

My sobs finally quieted and I sniffed as I continued leaning against Oreius' shoulder (well, I just killed, buried, dug back up and stomped all over my pride and dignity). I straightened and stared at Oreius' shoulder as I suddenly recalled something the Professor had told me when visiting me in the hospital: "A simple friend has never seen you cry, but a real friend has shoulders soggy from your tears." The shoulder of Oreius' tunic was completely soaked from all the tears I had shed...guess what type of friend he was (the kind I didn't need my pride or dignity with for one thing).

I finally looked up to meet Oreius' cautious gaze. I felt another tear break free and quickly swiped at it. Oreius shifted his hold on me and dug into the sash of his tunic like he had when he had given me the beads on the beach after I was knighted. That time he had pulled out a box, this time he whipped out a handkerchief. I accepted the proffered handkerchief with a watery smile...a burst of unexpected and probably unintended amusement bloomed in me. My throat was sore from sobbing, but I managed to rasp, "What is it with you Narnians and handkerchiefs? Every time I turn around, someone has whipped out a handkerchief."

Oreius grinned at me, looking rather relieved that I was talking (or that I wasn't really crying anymore). "Well, they do come in handy when a friend spontaneously bursts into tears." He pushed a strand of hair out of my eyes then asked softly, "Better?"

I shrugged as I balled the used handkerchief in my fist, "I guess." I paused then continued, "I'm sorry, Kentauri. For sobbing all over you, I mean. I didn't...I never intended to lose control like that."

"There's nothing to apologize for, Katerina Alambiel. I'm grateful I was here for you, besides all you did was prove that you do indeed feel."

I smirked slightly, then a sharp twinge in my left hand distracted me and I tilted my head when I saw a bandage wrapped around my hand. "What happened?"

"To your hand? I don't know, but it looks like you knocked a vase to the floor...again. And, apparently you cut the outside of your hand when you trying to pick it up."

I frowned in thought, but I couldn't summon the memory of doing that...it must have happened when I was being overwhelmed by memories, panic, and terror. "Is that what brought you in?"

"Yes."

I absently reached up to push my hair back again when my hand brushed against my cheek and I recalled something else. I tilted my head back and glared at Oreius, "You slapped me!"

Oreius nodded, "I didn't have much of a choice, Katerina Alambiel. You were panicking and struggling so hard that I feared you would cause yourself further harm."

I stared at him and saw both the truth and the unspoken apology. I nodded, accepting the silent apology. We stayed there in silence for a while. I knew Oreius desperately wanted to know what had caused my reaction, but he wouldn't press me because of his promise, and I tried to figure out what to tell him. The whole truth or only a part of the truth? I had already told the partial truth once...when I had been required to explain the scars on my back. I started to hum after a bit, only to stop when Oreius stiffened. "Where did you hear that song?"

I offered a little shrug, "I don't know...I've always known it. Why?"

He shifted so we could look one another in the eyes as he replied, "That song is a lullaby we Centaurs sing to our foals. Aslan said your mother was the Nymph daughter of a Centaur, so either she or her kin must have sung it to you."

I was silent as I processed the information that a small piece of my true heritage had traveled with me across the worlds. I sighed and Oreius finally let go of me as he rose to his feet. Pulling me up right, he turned me so he could see my face and then he tilted my chin up so our eyes met once more. He searched my eyes for something before he glanced at the water clock on my fireplace mantle and shook his head, "You don't have to come to training if you don't feel up to it. And, try to get some sleep if you can." He hesitated then asked, "Will you be all right if I leave?"

I stared at him then nodded, "Don't worry about me, Kentauri, I'll be fine." I took a step back, putting that tiny amount of distance between us then whispered, "Good night, Oreius."

He looked at me, searching one more time, and then he nodded. He glanced at the water clock again and sounded amused as he countered, "More like good morn, Katerina Alambiel." I followed his gaze to the water clock this time...it was already nearly fourth hour...well no wonder I was tired (yes, it had nothing at all to do with the emotional turmoil I had just experienced). Oreius smirked as I shrugged, then he left. I sat on the settee and watched the water clock for a little while, and then I cleaned myself up and changed into fresh clothes for training. There was no way I could sleep at that moment and if I let my memories keep me from training, I was letting the Monster win. I would not give him the control, especially when we were worlds apart.

Oreius was not surprised when I turned up in the armory, though I could see he wasn't sure if it was a good idea or not. Cletus, Ardon, and the Kings all gave me sharp looks when they saw the evidence that I had been crying, but a single glare from Oreius told them to mind their own business and they listened. I had showed up, so Oreius must have decided I needed no mercy since he kept me on the same intense schedule I had been on all week. After training, I was exhausted and finally slept for a bit, helped in no small part by the fact that I was too exhausted to have nightmares. By the end of training, I had also reached the decision to trust Oreius with all of my secrets...I would talk to him that night.

ӁӁӁӁӁӁӁӁӁӁӁӁӁӁӁ

I tapped my foot and crossed my arms as I regarded my eldest son through narrow eyes. Aslan knows I love my sons, but there were times when they truly tried my patience. "Your argument is nonsensical, Illusin. There is absolutely no reason you can't show interest in her."

Illusin shook his head and stamped a hoof, "You are completely ignoring the point, Mama."

I huffed, "You don't have a point, which makes it easy to ignore." Silverstone snickered while Illusin rolled his eyes, ignoring his brother. I ignored both of them as I continued, "There is no reason you should not pursue Caia. She caught your eye a year ago and you have allowed how many opportunities pass you by when you could have done something?"

Illusin groaned, honestly he acted like I was stitching a wound with nothing to numb it first. It was a simple question. Silverstone apparently couldn't resist tormenting his older brother as he cheerfully noted, "Over thirty, even though he can't resist talking to her whenever he can manage it."

Illusin swatted at Silverstone who dodged the blow easily, "We talk because we're both in the army and it's only on those types of matters. And, it has not been over thirty times, Silverstone can't count."

I gave Stonebrook a despairing look as Illusin lunged at Silverstone, but my husband refused to get involved in these discussions most of the time and tonight he was apparently engrossed in his papers. Silverstone snickered again as he taunted Illusin further, "Yesterday you were talking to her about the weather. That wasn't exactly army matters. Not to mention, you couldn't care less about whether it will be sunny or cloudy tomorrow."

I gave them an assessing look. Illusin was definitely blushing just the slightest bit though it was hard to see with his tanned skin as he glared at his brother...well, that was promising. I hadn't seen him blush before...and Silverstone was correct about how much interest Illusin gave the weather. "If that's the case, why haven't you done something about it already?"

Illusin broke off from plotting his brother's slow demise (I'm their mother I do know what they're thinking in most cases) and stared at me, "Mama, I'm a century her senior!"

Silverstone snorted and I heard Stonebrook mutter something about a wrong move as I peered up at my son, "Is that it?" He opened his mouth, but I kept talking, "Your father is a century older than I am and it didn't stop him from pursuing me."

Stonebrook chuckled softly as he lowered the paper he had been hiding behind and peered at me over the top of his reading spectacles, grey eyes twinkling as he commented, "I don't remember pursuing you, Tuulea."

Bother the details about which of us actually initiated the pursuit, Stonebrook was deliberately ignoring my point, which was he did pursue me...once he had a little encouragement. I waved his comment off and stayed focused on our eldest and most stubborn son. "That aside, my point is you've really no excuse to continue hesitating in pursuing Caia. As for the century, that doesn't even really count since you haven't even aged a few handful of years from when Jadis turned you to stone and you were barely past one hundred when that happened."

Illusin shook his head again, "Another reason not to pursue her. She needs someone who's closer to her and has known her longer than just under two years."

I threw my hands in the air, "Lion preserve us from your logic, Illusin. At this rate, I'll never get any grandchildren."

With those words, Stonebrook buried his nose in his papers again...anything to avoid the discussion of grandchildren, or rather lack thereof. Silverstone laughed while Illusin groaned, "Mama, not the grandchildren speech again."

I scowled at him, "Yes, again. I want grandchildren and it is your duty to give them to me. I don't ask much of you. It's all very simple. You get married and have children. All I'm asking is for you to show enough courtesy that I might actually get to see my grandchildren before I die. Am I really asking too much? Every mother asks the same thing, but other mothers don't seem to be _blessed_ with sons as stubborn as you and your brother."

Silverstone stopped laughing as soon as I mentioned him in passing. Illusin heaved a longsuffering sigh then gave his father a pleading glance, "Da?"

Stonebrook didn't look up from his papers as he mildly replied, "Colt, you want your mother to stop talking about how she wants grandchildren, then you had best do as she says. Get married, have some foals, and she'll quit...or so I assume that's how it works. She'll move on to your brother in any case."

I hid a smile at how my Stonebrook glanced up just long enough to wink at me while our sons both groaned at their father's words. Illusin suddenly brightened and gave his brother a wicked grin that always boded trouble...if they broke something, I was not going to be pleased with them. "What about that pretty Nymph you've been showing such an interest in lately, Silverstone? One of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting I believe, a Birch Nymph isn't she?"

I mumbled, "Birch Nymphs tend be flighty things, but I'm past the point of being choosy about daughter-in-laws." I ignored Stonebrook's poorly muffled laugh as I continued, "Is it Amaryllis' sister?"

Silverstone glared at his brother, "No, Mama, it's not Amarantha. She's not a Birch Nymph either. That's just who she was standing next to when Illusin saw her."

"Then who is she?"

I had to hide a smile at how Silverstone hurried to cut Illusin off, "He wouldn't be able to tell you. He was too busy staring at Caia."

Oh, honestly, they acted as though I would do something horribly embarrassing if I knew who each of them was interested in. I quickly ran through the Nymphs serving the Queens as ladies-in-waiting, happily eliminating the Birch Nymphs (they really were too flighty in their nature to be a good match for Silverstone). I paused as the most likely candidate came to mind, but before I could question my sons there was a knock on our doors. Illusin and Silverstone both sighed in relief as I crossed the parlor to open the doors...I shook my head in mock disapproval of their dramatics, don't know where they got it from.

Sherket looked up at me with worry as soon as I pulled the door open. "The General asks for your assistance, Tuulea. It concerns Dame Sepphora."

I nodded, "Of course, a moment to collect my kit." I immediately walked over to where Stonebrook was watching and pulled my spare kit of medicinal supplies free of the drawer I had stuffed it in last time I used it. I paused to whisper, "It's Alambiel." He nodded but didn't say anything. We both knew that it probably wasn't good if Oreius had chosen to summon me instead of Alithia...I had trained her well and she filled my former role as head healer with more than enough skill. I pointed at my sons as I walked by, "This conversation isn't even close to being finished."

I glanced at our water clock before I joined Sherket. It was half past midnight. Walking with the Leopard Captain, I quietly ordered, "Tell me."

Sherket glanced at me, "I'm not certain what's going on but the General and I were headed back to the barracks after checking the night guard when we heard something break in Dame Sepphora's quarters. She didn't answer when we knocked, so we opened the door to find her standing by the window...she sounded distressed, but there was no one in the room except the three of us. She didn't react to our presence or to questions, I checked the other rooms while the General kept trying to catch her attention. When he finally had her attention, it was as if she didn't know him. She reacted with fear, panic. That's about the time we realized she was injured. I think she cut herself on something, but she was struggling trying to get away when the General attempted to calm her. That's when he sent me to find you."

I didn't like the news that the child was panicking because that was so far removed from the strong front she presented the world. However, I was most concerned by the fact she apparently didn't know Oreius. I braced myself for the worst as we finally reached Katerina Alambiel's quarters. Entering it was impossible to miss how Oreius was holding her still and I recognized the signs of someone who was coming off a panic attack. I motioned for Sherket to stay back as I cautiously approached; the water clock attested that it was just past first hour and who knew how long it had taken Oreius to calm Katerina Alambiel down after Sherket left. Touching Oreius' shoulder, I whispered, "Where?"

"Her hand."

I nodded as I looked to see how her hands were curled close even though Oreius had already braced her arms so they were extended out from her body. I could see the blood covering her left hand, and it was obvious that she had been hyperventilating recently. I glanced up to meet his concerned gaze, "Hold her still. I doubt she'll like this very much."

He gave a short nod then shifted his hands to better brace her arms, so she wouldn't be able to pull away. The moment I touched her fingers, her eyes flew open and she tried to jerk her hands away. I silently asked her forgiveness when I met her terror-filled gaze. Dear Aslan, what else had been done her that she was filled with such fear? I still needed to see her hand though, so with some help from Oreius I gently forced her fingers to uncurl. Once I could see her hand, it looked like a shallow cut along the base and outer edge of her palm but it had already bled quite heavily, making it seem worse at first glance. Her breathing started to pick up again and I could feel her pulse racing beneath my fingers as I worked on cleaning her cut. Oreius shifted uneasily as Katerina Alambiel's breathing continued to pick up, "Tuulea, hurry. She's hyperventilating again."

I gave the colt a patient look; after all, I could only go so fast. "Then you must calm her down again."

He grumbled under his breath as I assessed the extent of the damage to her hand. The cut wasn't deep enough to warrant stitches, so a bandage would suffice. I doubted the cut would even leave a scar when it healed. I paused a moment in my wrapping of her hand when Oreius finally started talking to Katerina Alambiel. "Relax, Alambiel, and breathe. Come on, breathe with me." He had no idea that he had slipped into calling her by her proper name _that_ I confirmed in single upward glance. It was ironic that the young colt whose father had been one of Alambiel's primary guards now clearly protected her. As soon as I tied off her bandage and released her fingers, he cupped her hands in his as he looked over his shoulder at the Leopard Captain still sitting by the doors. "Sherket, do not speak a word of what you've seen or heard to anyone outside this room." Sherket nodded with a slight growl then I leaned in close to whisper, "Stay with her, Oreius. It's not safe to leave her alone in this state and you seem to be the only one she truly recognizes at the moment. You can leave when you feel she's recovered enough that it's safe. Send for me if she needs anything." He nodded and I slipped out the doors after Sherket.

Standing in the hall, I easily recalled the first day I had seen Katerina Alambiel.

"_Tuulea! You must come and meet Katerina." I couldn't help smiling at Queen Lucy's enthusiastic call. Ah, how she did remind me of Alambiel, bright, full of life and laughter. _

_Emerging from the back of the room where I had been looking over the newest fabrics to arrive at the Cair, I had a smile ready for the Queen and her new friend. I nearly lost my smile when I saw Queen Lucy's companion. It was like seeing a ghost. She was Hadassah with Swanwhite's coloring, but...Jadis had offered proof of her death..._

_Queen Lucy smiled and tugged the ghost closer, "Tuulea, may I introduce Katerina Alambiel. Kat, this is Tuulea, she's the best seamstress in the Cair and she's the one who taught Alithia everything she knows about healing! Tuulea, Kat's going to stay with us for a while, so she needs new clothes. But, she says she won't wear dresses."_

_Katerina Alambiel...my Alambiel back from the dead. Oh Aslan, I never thought I would see her again this side of His Country. I quickly recovered from my speechlessness and successfully hid my shock from the Queen, Alambiel, Alithia, and Sherket. _

They had no idea that as soon as they left, I had nearly run to find Stonebrook and told him that Alambiel was back, that I had seen her. My poor husband thought I had lost my mind once he calmed me down enough that he could understand what I was saying. He actually told me that I must have imagined it! I could feel a smile growing as I remembered when Stonebrook finally saw her for himself.

"_Tuulea?"_

_Stonebrook sounded odd and, when I turned around, he looked paler than usual almost as if he had been hit by something...or had seen a ghost. I clapped my hands in glee, "You've seen her."_

_He nodded, "At the council meeting, their majesties have extended her a permanent invitation." _

_I smiled brightly at the thought of having Alambiel with us for a longer amount of time. Then, I arched an eyebrow as I stared up at my husband, "Just my imagination or even wishful thinking, love?"_

_He chuckled as he raised his hands in a placating gesture, "I admit I was wrong. But, Tuulea, can you blame me?"_

_I laughed, "Not really, but that doesn't mean I'm going to miss this opportunity to gloat."_

He had thought that was funny. I remembered my stifled astonishment at the sight of Alambiel's back the first time I had her in for a true fitting. I had promised her that I wouldn't breathe a word to anyone and I had kept that promise even though I had been upset enough that Stonebrook was not happy when I refused to tell him. I had been torn between sorrow, outrage, and relief when Ardon and Alithia had come to us with Alambiel's story of a Monster who tormented her beyond what any child should have endured...the relief was only because now Stonebrook also knew of the secret I had been carrying for her. What I had seen tonight, however, told me she had received far worse hurts than she had previously confessed.

Entering our quarters, I wasn't surprised to see Stonebrook still reading his papers waiting up for me to come back...I also wasn't surprised to see that Illusin and Silverstone were nowhere to be found. He looked up as I closed the doors. Setting his papers down and pulling off his reading spectacles, he searched my face for a clue to my thoughts. "Your sons made their escape back to the barracks not long after you left. How is she?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. It was a minor cut, nothing serious but she had such terror in her eyes..." I trailed off, and then took a breath before I brought up one of the few things my husband and I argued about. "We need to tell her."

"No."

He rose as I protested, "She needs to know, Stonebrook. We have the information. She's supposed to be looking for it anyway. Why can't we tell her who she is, who her family is? She deserves to know and-"

"Tuulea, no. We cannot tell her. She has to find out on her own. She needs to rediscover her memories on her own, Tuulea. You can't help her, not with this."

But, I wanted to! I hated the fact that she believed herself to be an orphan who was unwanted by her family. Nothing could be further from the truth. "So, we don't come out and say it. Can we not point her in the right direction for the genealogies?"

Stonebrook was shaking his head before I even finished speaking. "No, Tuulea. We can't interfere in any way. That is the word given to us by Oberon. And, you promised you would not try to drop any hints to her or anyone else about who she really is."

I scowled, "I promised, and I will keep my promise...it's not as though you would allow me to forget it. But, that doesn't mean I have to like it."

He sighed, "I know, Tuulea, I know. I don't appreciate it much myself, but we gave our word."

So we did... Later I lay wide-awake while Stonebrook slept until I got up and walked over to the window. The only reason really that Alambiel's true identity had not been discovered yet was due to the fact that Lew had been so very protective of his youngest child and only daughter. He had been over-protective actually, keeping her out of the eyes of all save the inner circle for as long as he could manage it. Of those who had known her, only a few of us had survived Jadis' tyranny and only Stonebrook and I had returned to serve the Royals in Cair Paravel. It was ironic that Oreius had called her simply "Alambiel" since I was certain he didn't in any way associate her with the young Princess he had spent time with when he was a very young colt. I sighed as I sat down on the bed, this time at Stonebrook's back. Keeping this secret was going to drive me insane.

I needed to distract myself. Propping myself up on my elbow, I listened to Stonebrook's steady breathing as I mulled over everything I had seen and heard, not just tonight, but since Alambiel had come back. I paused as I replayed the interactions between her and Oreius that I had witnessed. Hmm, perhaps, just perhaps I could see- I jumped when Stonebrook interrupted my thoughts, "Tuulea, I can hear you plotting."

I giggled, "You cannot! And, I'm not plotting...I was just putting together some pieces that are forming an extremely interesting picture. It's about Alambiel and-" I cut myself off with a small yelp when Stonebrook suddenly wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me to land on the other side of him.

"Tomorrow, you can plot all you want about Alambiel and whoever you've decided would be a good match for her. You can even tell me about your theories. But not tonight, tomorrow."

I could not keep from pointing out one little thing, "It is tomorrow."

Stonebrook closed his eyes as he responded by tugging me closer and muttering, "You're not going to be happy until you've matched everyone in Narnia, are you?"

I giggled, "Only those who are truly single, dear." He grumbled under his breath about matchmaking healers and Nymphs as mates... Oh, that reminded me. I tapped Stonebrook lightly on the cheek. "Do you know which Nymph has caught Silverstone's eye?"

He didn't bother to open his eyes as he groaned, "Tuulea, sleep." I giggled in response, but obediently stopped poking my half-asleep husband. I would put all of the pieces together eventually for everything I was contemplating, and until Alambiel rediscovered her past, I could focus on convincing my stubborn sons that they were just being silly about delaying marriage and grandchildren.

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21 Mayblossom 1002

I watched in silence as Katerina Alambiel paced the length of her parlor. The shadows under her eyes weren't as bad as they had been when she showed up at training in spite of my suggestion that she not come. I had a feeling that she was finally going to tell me everything else she had been holding back. I understood her better now than when I first asked the boon of the lowering of her shields. Learning what she had gone through when she was the same age Peter had been when he and his siblings had come to Narnia not quite two years...the thought still made my blood boil. No one deserved the treatment that had earned her scars, especially not at such a tender age. I understood now why she was so resistant to the idea of lowering her guard and trusting another to be her shield. I had asked a lot more of her than I had realized that night six months ago.

Watching her pace, trying to figure what to say or how to say it, I acknowledged the grim truth that Katerina Alambiel had actually suffered even more than she had confessed two months ago based on how she had acted last night. The itch to go hunt down this Monster myself returned with vengeance. Katerina turned at that moment and a sad smile appeared on her lips but it didn't reach her eyes. "It would be quite the feat, Kentauri, if you managed to hunt down the Monster when he's an entire world away."

I rubbed the back of my neck, "That obvious am I, Katerina Alambiel?"

She nodded, "You are. However, if anyone deserved to meet you in a bad mood, it would be the Monster."

I shook my head at her, but was heartened by how she had given me a true smile that time. I didn't know how to help her specifically, other than to allow her to take the lead. She brushed a loose strand of hair out of her eyes then dropped to sit on the rug. She peered up at me in silence and I raised an eyebrow. She muttered, "This is going to be harder than I thought."

I sank down to the floor directly across from her and finally spoke up as her muttered comment peaked my curiosity, "What do you mean? Have you not discussed this before with others?"

"What others?"

I shrugged, "Tuulea, Alithia, your Charlie, or the Professor you've mentioned. You must have spoken to someone about this before now."

She shook her head and waved her right hand in a clear negative, "Oh no, Kentauri. I don't talk about my past or my ghosts or anything else personal that I can avoid...ever. Offers have been made to hear me out and reminders have been given that I need to confide in someone, but I never acted on any of them."

I frowned in spite of my best efforts not to as I realized Katerina Alambiel had probably been holding in every fear, every feeling of despair and loneliness and guilt, for more than a few years. No wonder she had broken down so completely last night...and now she was already attempting to put the pieces back together regardless of help. "Why?"

A bitter smile twisted her lips as she glanced away then looked back at me with hard eyes as she softly answered, "Because I couldn't let anyone in. I had to be stronger than that. The trials of the Monster were highly publicized and there were all these crowds of people judging the Monster, judging me. They all came to the same two conclusions: She's a liar and possibly worse or that poor girl who would ever want her now that she's been damaged. Pity or skepticism, that's it. It was humiliating and then tiresome because I never knew if someone offering to be a friend, a confidant, was doing it out of a genuine interest in me or because they were trying to learn some new salacious detail that the rumor mill hadn't already churned out. Half the time I was treated like some poor invalid who must pitied and the other half of the time they treated me like a pariah."

She paused and I took the opportunity to comment, "Katerina Alambiel, you were a child when this happened. Why didn't you accept the help? Your experience would easily crush an adult, a veteran warrior."

Her eyes snapped up to meet mine and I could see a blue fire in them as she snapped, "I am not a victim!" Her fierce declaration defiantly challenged me to even suggest that the Monster had turned her into a helpless victim.

Understanding came in a flash as to why she had insisted on participating in her training routine that morning. Control of her emotions, her actions, her very life would not be surrendered even to a Monster now regulated to her memories. I inclined my head as I solemnly replied, "No. You're a survivor."

She hesitated then she nodded, accepting that I did indeed understand what she was trying to say. "Yes, I survived...and I should not have." She took a breath then continued before I could say a word, "Oreius, I was barely thirteen and I survived torture, both physical and mental, that would challenge an adult to live through. And, then I somehow managed to escape his lair, escape him, when I should have been too wounded to move. Not even adrenaline could account for that feat, not completely anyway. The doctors, healers, said I should have died just from the blood loss alone and they couldn't explain how I not only survived but regained full use of my hands when the healing process shouldn't have been so thorough or relatively fast. The Professor laughed at that, he would say that it was my own personal miracle and a sign of our Lord working in mysterious ways. I suppose though that was actually a sign of my Narnian heritage...the faster healing rate and greater endurance."

I hesitated then nodded, "It makes sense to me that your Narnian heritage was protecting you to an extent. Not to mention, you are too stubborn to die when someone orders you to do so."

She smiled a little at that, then she tucked her hair behind her ear again as more strands escaped the messy bun she had pulled her hair into earlier before she quietly continued talking. "Either way, those people whom I would have trusted with my fears all disappeared from my life due to one reason or another. The Professor, Clive, and Jack, they were killed in...an accident when I was fifteen. Almost immediately after that I was taken from Charlie and his wife, who had been acting as my foster parents, and placed in a crowded foster home but I was almost immediately booted from it when they found out I was the girl associated with the serial killer, the Monster. In spite of how fast I was bouncing from home to home and that they were on standby as reserve military, Charlie and his team took turns being on my protection detail or if they weren't on the detail, they would come an sit in the courthouse so I would have at least one true friendly face in the crowd. You know, I have no idea how they managed that, but then not even six months later Charlie and the majority of his team were killed in combat. By the time I was sixteen I was essentially alone and I was old enough that the defense team for the Monster had started to suggest I had either lied about the Monster or was trying to blame him for things I had helped another do."

She sighed then continued in an even softer whisper, "Everyone I could trust was gone by the time I was almost ready to consider finally taking them up on their offers of help. So, I put up another layer of shields and retreated into a world of books and my drawings as part of my method of coping with everything. I didn't dare let myself mourn. I was by myself and there was no one I could trust to catch me when I fell. I just forced myself to stand back up and tamped down on those feelings. To give in to them became the same as giving in to the Monster again. He already made me scream for him, I wasn't going to let him control me again no matter how tenuously. Most of the time, I'm fine and no one can see through the mask. What they can't see, doesn't exist. If I can fool the world around me, some days I can fool myself into thinking that I'm not pretending when I say I'm fine."

I understood the idea of hiding one's true feelings behind a mask that would convince the outside everything was well on the inside. I used that method often but not for the reasons Katerina Alambiel used it. I was the General, the leader of my people, and I couldn't afford to let them see if I was despairing or fearful of a situation...that had been especially true during the Hundred Year Winter. I understood very well, but she needed to say something else, I could see it in her eyes as she waited for me to judge her. I chose not to say anything, instead I inclined my head to acknowledge I had heard and understood her words. She tilted her head as she studied me closely, searching, I guess, for any hint of either deception or worse pity. When she nodded, I finally voiced a question that had troubled me all day. "Why didn't you tell me this before? Such as after you were knighted. I thought you would and then when you didn't, I assumed you were talking to Tuulea or Alithia since you never breathed a word of it during our Sixthday talks."

She hesitated before answering as she ran her thumb over the lion and cross pendants. "Because I was hurt by how you doubted my intentions when we were dealing with the Muhuru and Jambres. I didn't know if the lack of trust you showed meant that I shouldn't try to trust you because you might use the things I confided to you as a way to hurt me the next time you didn't see me as trustworthy."

I winced at the brutally blunt truth she offered, I was not proud of how I had doubted her word because of the evidence presented against her. However, my first loyalty was to Aslan and the Royals...I had had to suspect everyone the evidence indicated due to that simple fact alone. Meeting her steady gaze, she nodded slightly and I saw her own understanding of the situation even though it had hurt her. Still... "I am sorry, Katerina Alambiel."

She smiled faintly, "I know." I believed she did and not just where my apology was concerned. She toyed with her necklace again before she gave me an indecipherable look. "In any case, I've reached my decision." I didn't even have the chance to ask what she was talking about as she twisted slightly to her right so she could face me directly. "I, Katerina Alambiel, do ask thee, Oreius son of Cadfael, to act as mine shield for as long as I require it of thee 'til the day I do release thee from thy vow."

For a moment, I said nothing as the utter unexpectedness of her request, formal request, impacted me. I had only given my oath of fealty and protection to those who by Aslan's law possessed it by right, the Four and my tribe. I took a breath, "I, Oreius son of Cadfael, do swear to thee, Katerina Alambiel, that I shall act as thy shield for as long as thou requires it of me 'til the day thou does release me of mine vow." I paused allowing the vow to resonate between us, and then I quietly repeated, "For as long as you need me, I promise to be there for you as your shield."

She nodded then she gave me a strange look, "What else should I tell you, Kentauri?"

I was not so foolish as to not recognize the open invitation for me to take all her secrets and ease that burden. I paused before I challenged her to use the vow she had just extracted from me, "Tell me everything."

She lowered her head for a brief moment, and then she smiled at me. "You never make it easy for me, do you, Oreius?"

"No."

"All right, be warned it's going to take a while and I'm only telling you everything I've not told you before about the Monster." I nodded, ignoring the slight twinge of guilt over the fact that I knew something about her Monster that she did not. The High King had forbidden me from saying anything and I could not, would not, disobey him unless it was a matter of life or death. Though I hoped to convince him to change his mind concerning those documents soon.

In the meantime, however, I settled in and listened as she shared every detail about what she had witnessed and experienced at the Monster's hands. I could tell when it was hardest for her to talk, but she once again demonstrated why she was a survivor as she pressed through and let me share the burden of the memories of that experience. My opinion of her only rose that night as I learned what she somehow had overcome in order to still hang on to that hope of there being people who deserved her trust and her friendship. She didn't weep, I think she had wept for it all the night before. I respected her and silently marveled at the strength of will she demonstrated not only as I listened but as I remembered how she had reacted to everything since I met her in that glade as she held a tree branch and stared at me with a silent promise of a beating if I had intended to harm Queen Lucy. She could act like a lunatic at times, but I was more than willing to act as her shield. I understood better than most ever would, and I would not let her forget that she was not alone, that I was by her side. I did not know what future challenges would occur but it was my hope that I never failed in my promise to be her shield, her protector.

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**When You Are a Soldier ~ Steven Curtis Chapman**

Verse 1:

When you are a soldier I will be your shield

I will go with you into the battlefield

And when the arrows start to fly

Take my hand and hold on tight

I will be your shield, 'cause I know how it feels

When you are a soldier

Verse 2:

When you're tired from running

I will cheer you on

Look beside you and you'll see you're not alone

And when your strength is all but gone

I'll carry you until you're strong

And I will be your shield 'cause I know how it feels

When you're a soldier

Bridge:

I will be the one you can cry your songs to

My eyes will share your tears

And I'll be your friend if you win

Or if you're defeated

Whenever you need me I will be here

Verse 3:

When you're lost in the darkness I will hold the light

I will help you find your way through the night

I'll remind you of the truth

And keep the flame alive in you

And I will be your shield

'Cause I know how it feels

When you are a soldier

**I Will ~ Lady Firewing**

When you're lost and you're lonely

Doesn't matter

I'll be there by your side

Through the cold and the lonely nights

When you feel like giving up

Know that you've got a friend

I'll be with you until the very end

Chorus:

When the waves they

Crash over

Don't you worry

We'll stand together

I'll hold you steady

'Cause you need a rock

I'll be your rock

Bridge:

And though it seems hard

To find the light

Know that the tunnel will soon be bright

Open your eyes

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**A/N: Please Read and Review! Okay, my little jaunt through the between times turned into a monster didn't it? So, this is the last chapter for _Shields_...I do admit it is the longest chapter I have ever written even without the disclaimers, songs, and author notes. Now, that this is finally finished I can go back to work on _Revealed_ and a few other projects...but mainly _Revealed_. Click the big blue button below and let me know what y'all thought about this chapter.**


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